Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1462122
maltatoday | SUNDAY • 20 MARCH 2022 OPINION 14 US sportsman and politician Bill Bradley once wrote: "Leader- ship is about unlocking people's potential to help them become better." I have always loved this quote, as in many ways it epito- mises my work ethos as a politi- cian. For the past three decades, I feel that my role has been that of a catalyst for change; I have spear- headed initiatives, laws, and ide- as that have touched the lives of thousands of people, improving their economic, physical and so- cial well-being. Serving the public has given me enormous satisfac- tion. One of my initial contributions was the Planning Authority (PA) reform. My vision was to stream- line the permit application pro- cess. This reform resulted in the elimination of red tape and use- less delays. Between 2014 to 2017, as the Minister for Family and Social Solidarity, I saw that pensioners begin to receive the cost-of-liv- ing increments to the full and an additional year-on-year increase on top and above the COLA. The long-awaited pension reform was, at last, a reality. On the housing front, we con- cluded a €58 million finance agreement with the European In- vestment Bank and the Council of Europe Development Bank to construct over 700 social housing units, which started being built in late 2016 across various loca- tions. After the 2017 election, in my new role as Minister for Home Affairs and National Security, one of my first missions was to help secure a collective agreement for the disciplined forces and grant their right to join a representative union. For the first time, a special insurance policy was introduced for the army and the police, cover- ing them in the event of an injury in their line of duty. Eager to promote policing at a community level to improve peo- ple's sense of security and social well-being, I spearheaded the in- troduction of Community Polic- ing, with Mellieħa serving as the pilot project for this initiative in 2019. We also started the modernisa- tion of all the disciplined forces vehicles fleets. We took the bold decision to introduce improved discipline in the Corradino Cor- rectional Facility, which helped eradicate drugs from the facility. Furthermore, we launched ini- tiatives involving new work and education opportunities for in- mates. In January 2020, Prime Minister Robert Abela appointed me as Minister for Energy and Water Management. Despite the pre- vailing international economic woes associated with the COVID pandemic, I ensured that the lo- cal cost of gas cylinders remained stable. Furthermore, we reduced the cost of petrol and diesel by seven cents a litre – while keep- ing water and electricity tariffs stable. Later in 2020, following a cabi- net reshuffle, I took over the role of Minister for Senior Citizens and Active Ageing at the peak of the pandemic. My priority was the vaccination of senior citi- zens and staff in long term care facilities, persons with disabilities residing in homes, and senior cit- izens in their private residences. In addition to upgrading the St Vincent de Paul residence to a specialised geriatrics health care facility, the Msida Home for the Elderly is being rebuilt with an investment of €13.5 million. Earlier this year, Malta became the first country in the world to introduce iSupport, WHO's online training for caregivers of people with dementia. In addi- tion, we introduced 'Telecare on the Move', the first worldwide day/night respite facilities for persons with dementia, and the upgrading of standards used in long-term care facilities. I look forward to using my polit- ical experience and my closeness to the realities of various families in need to help bring change and help implement the Partit La- burista electoral programme. THE election on 26th March 2022 is now with us and the choice is a clear one. Either as a people we choose the future or choose the past. These last two years were not easy times nei- ther for the world nor for our country. Yet we had a strong leader who despite the difficul- ties it faced, still managed to keep Malta on its feet. In the past two years in fact, Prime Minister Robert Abela has had to face a pandemic that has brought about a major inter- national crisis especially in the areas of health and the economy. Nevertheless, Malta emerged as the country with the highest rate of vaccinations and our econo- my is among the fastest recover- ing economies in Europe. As the Labour Government has been showing for the past years, our country has a bright future before it. During this campaign the Labour Party has already an- nounced several proposals that will certainly continue to con- tribute to a better quality of life and that will provide more op- portunities for all, if the country will give it another vote of confi- dence for the next five years. A Labour Party in Government will work for a better environ- ment. Over a 7-year period it is promising that it will be invest- ing €700 million in new green spaces, with a focus on the heart of cities and villages. A Labour Government will be doing this through the creation of parks, gardens, urban green Reclama- tion, traffic tunnels with green spaces on them, urban greening projects and underground parks. For the Labour Government our families are important and therefore another priority is to continue to incentivise work. That is why it is going to be re- ducing taxes by expanding the tax bands on income tax. This will leave at least €255 more per year in the pockets of workers and self-employed workers up to a maximum of €365 between tax savings and tax refunds. A La- bour Government will ensure an average of €300 more in pockets of every worker and self-em- ployed person. Parents will not pay tax on the first €12,200 of their income; the first €1,000 per month of income will not be taxed. A commitment will al- so be made for the Tax Refund to also apply for middle income and lower income earners as well. This is equivalent to re- turning another €24 million per year in people's pockets. This is the equivalent of returning a to- tal of €90 million in household pockets. Not to mention the €70 million that we will invest in people with the Tax Refund and the Additional Chance this year. A Labour Party in Govern- ment shall also ensure that the businesses sector continues to grow. Over the last two years, i.e. at the worst of the pandem- ic, businesses have always found Government support. This is a continuing commitment by the Labour Party in Government. In fact, Corporate Tax will be reduced on the first €250,000 of profit from 35 % to 25 %. During the past years of La- bour Party administration in our country, the elderly saw their pension increasing. This is not to mention also the increases in services and grants. If the peo- ple again give confidence to the Labour Party, every pensioner is going to see an increase of not less than €15 every week. A minimum increase of €2,340 in a single pension term in the first five years. In addition, all pen- sioners will start to receive free of charge all medicines listed on the government schedule; this means support of €40 million. The youths are at the top of the Labour Party agenda. The Gov- ernment wants to implement the dream of the youths who want to own their first home. Therefore, for the first 10 years of the loan, the Government is going to pay €1,000 from the repayment of the first-time buyers' loan on the purchase of the first residential property. This means €10,000 more in first-time buyer pockets in 10 years. This scheme will ap- ply retroactively to all those who signed the contract of purchase from 1st January 2022. One question emerges from all of this: Will we go forward as a country, with a bright future with Robert Abela in the lead or will we turn the clock back with a Nationalist Party led by Ber- nard Grech and be ruled by the same people who have held the Nationalist Party at ransom for so many years? This is the choice that the Mal- tese and Gozitan people must make on the 26th of March, a choice that is literally going to be setting the way for the future of our country. Serving the public as an agent for change Leading our country into a brighter future Michael Farrugia Jonathan Attard Michael Farrugia is a Labour candidate on the 11th and 12th districts Jonathan Attard is a Labour MP and candidate on the 4, 12th districts