Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/288366
maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 2 APRIL 2014 News 2 PHOTOGRAPHY BY CHRIS MANGION Coleiro Preca: 'I'll be this country's social conscience' MIRIAM DALLI ON her last day as social solidar- ity minister, president-designate Marie Louise Coleiro Preca has sent a clear message that she will use her Presidency to push a com- mitment to end the detention of child migrants. She was speaking at the launch of a report on care orders for children taken under government care, at the Old University in Valletta. "Unaccompanied minors must be our children… we cannot forget the experience they've been through. It can only happen if we look at these children in the face. Just imagine what they had to go through if their parents told them to take the op- portunity [to leave their country]… they come to Malta and we treat them like criminals. Because that's how we treat them," Coleiro Preca said. Her emphatic declaration came after Prime Minister Joseph Mus- cat made ending child detention a commitment of his government, in a Freedom Day speech he gave in Birgu on Sunday, 30 March. "Government must commit itself to provide a different reception centre for these children and the IOM will be sending a team to as- sess the matter. Let's be united and stand foursquare on this issue." In a reply to a question from In- tegra Foundation's Maria Pisani, Coleiro Preca also explained what her presidency could achieve. "You're not going to be the minis- ter here, so to what degree will this commitment be followed through – have the wheels been set in mo- tion? Because frankly, just because the prime minister spoke, does it mean anything?" Pisani asked. "I've been given wider functions," Coleiro Preca replied. "Obviously, I cannot go to parliament and submit a law. But it doesn't have to be me. As President I will keep on facilitat- ing and push forward for things to be done. "Don't lose heart. Let's say I'm go- ing to be an experiment, but I rarely fail in experiments when it comes to the vulnerable. You'll have to bear with me for a few days, but we will set things in motion. I'm not in an executive role. But I am going to be the social conscience of this country." Speaking on the revision of care orders, Coleiro Preca said this was just the beginning in a series of re- visions ensuring that children are given top priority on the country's agenda. During the compilation of the re- port on care orders, children spoke out about how rarely they get to see their parents while under care order. One child complained that she had not seen her sister in eight months while another said he was "taken away" with the promise of going to the beach – in reality, he had been placed under care order. The lack of communication be- tween birth parents and the profes- sionals was also flagged by a family therapist, who said parents "had no idea" what is said behind their backs. Coleiro Preca said it was impera- tive that children are given a prior- ity and that legislators should not be afraid of facing issues "which are usually swept under the carpet". "If we even fail one child, we would have failed in everything. We believe that one child matters as much as all of them together. That is how this sector should op- erate," she said. "Why should we be afraid of changing what needs to be changed? We need to have a sense of courage or this system will de- feat its purpose." Housing Authority receives 36 proposals for 950 units JAMES J. PISCOPO THE Ministry for Social Solidarity has received 45 proposals for "in- novative" social housing in a call for applications issued last January. Nine were turned down for not fulfilling the necessary criteria, however 36 proposals have been shortlisted for the provision of around 950 housing units. Social Solidarity Minister Marie Louise Coleiro Preca said the 36 proposals would reduce the waiting list for social housing by one-third, currently standing at 3,300. The proposals which demanded an outright sale of property to the Housing Authority were amongst those which were turned down. The other proposals asked for pay- ments spread out over a period of time, or swapping of land owned by the Housing Authority. Other methods of payment in- cluded settling existing debt that contractors have with the govern- ment. "This is in line with the ap- proach we adopted the past year to strengthen the role of the Housing Authority and make it viable, in a way that we enable it to carry out its core business," Coleiro Preca said, referring to the financial bur- den the authority had to face in re- cent years. She added that the ministry was also looking into the possibility of a social rent policy, where applicants who are currently on the housing waiting list would benefit from subsidies. This would enable them to rent a place on their own without de- pending on the housing authority, further reducing the waiting list in the process. Coleiro Preca also announced the authority's intention to increase ac- cessibility of current units with the introduction of elevators. "€2 million will be allocated for this measure, which will be taken from the capital acquired through the 'Sir Sid Darek ' campaign. This would address the problems faced by families who live on the high- est f loors of a housing estate," she said. The call for applications for in- novative housing was launched in January and closed after 30 days. It aimed at reducing the housing waiting list through public-private partnerships. Marie Louise Coleiro Preca addresses the house Marie Louise Coleiro Preca said the proposals would reduce the waiting list for social housing by one-third