Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1451574
13 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 16 FEBRUARY 2022 OPINION Ivan Bartolo Ivan Bartolo is a Member of Parliament for the Nationalist Party ON Friday 28 January 2022, we organised a social breakfast meeting, 'Neżisti jew Ngħix?', at the new premises of Caritas Malta in Mountbatten Street in Ħamrun. This event saw the gathering of active citizens from various walks of life who are coming together to generate more so- cial awareness on the most vulnerable strata in our socie- ty. We have explained how we care about our fellow man who may be on the brink of any one of life's edges. But we should not stop at caring only, and that is why we are joining forc- es to call for more social justice in our country. We had the opportunity to present various real-life situa- tions which, although similar, constitue different experiences from unique individuals. Per- sonal statements such as 'I re- alise I have nothing when I look at my life' and 'my children grew up without me realising' and 'I feel set aside and lone- ly' leave you heartbroken and speechless. These are all true situations which reflect the daily burden some people have to carry. Such statements challenge me to continuously aspire to make more difference through poli- tics in these people's lives. As a country, we cannot turn a blind eye on these hearth- aches. The guest speakers at the conference, spoke clearly of this. Each life is precious and as a society we should strive to leave no one behind. The shift from an individualistic to al- truistic thinking is a key driv- er for more social justice. We need to speak the language of those suffering to help them lift themselves within a climate enriched with mercy and soli- darity. Together with Opposition leader Bernard Grech, I pre- sented the first part of the vi- sion of the PN for a socially just Malta of the future. I put for- ward these four propsals: The first proposal is to try and understand the true nature of poverty and address it. We recommended setting up an autonomous and indipendent structure - 'Poverty Watch' – to be composed of NGOs and social experts which will genu- inely measure poverty and de- vise actions for timely preven- tion and reduction of poverty. A Nationalist government would also be revamping and updating the National Strategy for Poverty Reduction and So- cial Inclusion which should be reviewed bi-annually and not every 10 years as per the cur- rent Govenment's standards. Secondly, we proposed es- tablishing a minimum living income. This is a topic I have been personally writing and speaking about on numeruous occasions. The implementation of the living income would se- cure an adequate income for all to be able to carry on with their life in dignity. The intention is not to ob- tain the living income through a burdening of the taxpayer but we are looking at a financial model where the minimum in- come equates sufficiently with the cost of living and within an environment where the em- ployer can also gain through added value from the employ- ee. The third proposal express- es solidarity with the home- less. There are approximately 300 people without a perma- nent home in Malta and Gozo. Therefore, we are proposing to develop incentives for vacated propoerties to serve as shelters for the homeless. This would be achieved in agreement be- tween owners, NGOs and the government. The fourth proposal is to pro- mote more corporate socoial responsibility (CSR) to truly promote the common good. Looking back to a few days ago, the social breakfast meet- ing was deemed a success and has managed to provoke thoughts about the importance of social issues and difficulties in the country. I thank each of the keynote speakers for their participa- tion, but even more so for their life contributions towards fun- damental social causes around us. Proposals for more social justice The shift from an individualistic to altruistic thinking is a key driver for more social justice