Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/329964
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 15 JUNE 2014 Opinion 22 Michael Falzon W hen presenting the Housing Authority's estimates for discussion in the House of Representatives last Monday, the Minister for the Family and Social Solidarity, Michael Farrugia, gave what were described in the media as a few first-hand examples of people giving reasons why they had applied for social housing. The one that made the headline concerned a person who expected to be given a seaside f lat – not just a roof to live under. I was once told by a single mother who lived in a government f lat with her two children and subsisted on social benefits, that it was time for her to move on in life and therefore she expected the state to provide her with a house and garden, rather than a f lat. I remember I had asked her, somewhat facetiously, how big she expected the garden to be and whether it had to include mature orange trees. This was over 20 years ago. Nothing has changed. People still go around asking ministers for handouts and serious political issues are still being eclipsed by voters who hound politicians expecting favours in the form of gifts that they do not deserve – clientelism at its worst. Minister Michael Farrugia might have made the right noises in Parliament last Monday but these will soon be drowned out by the noises of Labour supporters expecting extremely cheap – if not free – 'social' housing just because they are loyal Labour supporters. Over the years successive administrations have pumped millions of euros – and before that millions of Maltese liri – into social housing, but the request for social housing is never satisfied. It will never be because these successive administrations – of both the PN and the PL – pursued a policy that considers social housing as a permanent gift given to anyone who makes a successful claim that he or she is in dire need of social housing. First and foremost, quite a percentage of recipients do not merit such state help, given to them because of their political affiliations to the party in power – a tendency that is set to remain with us unless the authorities embark on a serious and radical change in social housing policy. This is a permanent Maltese scourge, whatever any past or present minister responsible for housing says. The tendency to consider one's political affiliation as the most important merit when one asks for social housing might have been created by Labour in the past, but it has grown from strength to strength even under PN administrations. Then there are the fraudsters who make money out of social housing, including the now infamous way how two 'independent' single parents are given a housing unit each while defrauding social service benefits as 'single parents', and then proceed to create some sort of income from an illegal third party use of the 'extra' unit! This sort of fraud has never received the 'Nelson eye treatment' either from PN or PL administrations but the creativity of fraudsters knows no bounds. And, last but not least, there are also the genuine cases that sometimes end up lost in the rush for the 'El Dorado' that social housing is considered to be. The truth is that, over time, the state has been financing the housing of more people who do not deserve it than of those who do, because of their dire financial straits. A cursory look at the lifestyle of people living in government built f lats or in houses developed on building plots that were practically handed out free by the state should be enough to confirm the veracity of this statement. Undoubtedly, the social housing sector in Malta is living proof of the accuracy of the economical adage that when supply is for free, demand is infinite. And so long as social housing is free and for life, the list of pending applications for such housing will never be exhausted. In an intriguing coincidence, the speech of Minister Michael Farrugia was delivered a week after the Minister of Finance, Edward Scicluna, made some interesting observations about social services on his regular video blog. Minister Scicluna, while explaining that many governments were finding it difficult to sustain social benefits, insisted that social services must be temporary, until beneficiaries can stand on their own feet and do not remain dependant on benefits. According to Minister Scicluna, governments often did not make it easier for such people to fend for themselves and come off benefits. The state, therefore, needed to change its systems in a way that would encourage people to come off benefits, and reward them for doing so Minister Scicluna was speaking mostly about unemployment benefits but, perhaps unwittingly, he actually diagnosed the real problem with the demand for social housing. Because, in Malta, once a person or a family benefitted from the social housing system, the benefit is for life. People who might have really needed state T here are various definitions for tourism zones. The most common refers to coastal resorts with seaside promenades, which are particularly appealing for tourists and locals alike, especially in summer. The sheer volume of tourists and visitors within these zones, and the associated pressures emanating from the prevailing high-density levels, requires effective and efficient management. For this purpose, the Ministry for Tourism appointed a Tourism Zone National Committee at the start of this year. The committee will seek to take on innovative projects to develop tourist sites that were neglected in the past 20 years, especially in the St Paul's Bay and Southern areas. I strongly believe that enhancing the maintenance of current infrastructures in coastal areas, sea fronts, public spaces and other tourist attractions is a must. The large number of visitors accentuates the product weaknesses, which are evident in a number of tourism zones in Malta and Gozo. Tourism zones need to be evaluated properly as these inf luence the experience of the visitors, irrespective as to whether they reside there or are just visiting. Even though the absolute majority are satisfied with the overall experience, surveys regularly conducted by the MTA underline a number of concerns of tourists. The Tourism Zones National Committee is made up of representatives of government entities, local councils and the commercial sector, with a chairman appointed by the OPM. The committee members include representatives of the three tourism zones - the North zone which encompasses the St. Paul's' Bays area and Mellieha; the Central zone which covers Sliema- St. Julians-Gzira; and the South zone which includes Marsaskala, Marsaxlokk, Birzebbugia and Wied iz-Zurrieq. For logistic purposes, tourism zones in Gozo will remain under the remit of the Gozo Ministry. The poor visual quality of certain parts of tourism zones is another aspect I am concerned about. Urban environment around hotels, restaurants and other tourism attractions impinges on the overall experience of our visitors. At times this is the result of intrinsically poor architectural design. Another factor that degrades streetscapes is buildings left in shell form or unused and abandoned buildings. Poor and uncoordinated signage adds to the problem. I am aware that the aesthetics and environmental quality of tourism zones need to be improved through better landscaping and a general greening of the environment. The determination of the design has an effect on the overall environment and this should be left in the hands of professionals, as despite good intentions by property owners and even local councils, the end result at times leaves a lot to be desired. More emphasis needs to be put on the upkeep and maintenance of Housing Authority ƵƐƚŽŵĞƌĂƌĞKĸĐĞ,ŽƵƌƐʹ^ƵŵŵĞƌϮϬϭϰ The Housing Authority would like to inform the Public about the schedule ŽĨƚŚĞƵƐƚŽŵĞƌĂƌĞKĸĐĞƐĚƵƌŝŶŐƚŚĞ^ƵŵŵĞƌƐĞĂƐŽŶ͘ &ƌŽŵϭϲƚŚ:ƵŶĞƚŽϯϬƚŚ^ĞƉƚĞŵďĞƌ͕ϮϬϭϰ͗ dĞůĞƉŚŽŶĞƐ͗DŽŶĚĂLJʹ&ƌŝĚĂLJ͗ϴ͘ϬϬĂŵʹϭϮ͘ϬϬƉŵ͘ KƉĞŶŝŶŐŚŽƵƌƐ͗DŽŶĚĂLJ͕dƵĞƐĚĂLJ͕dŚƵƌƐĚĂLJ͕&ƌŝĚĂLJ͗ϴ͘ϬϬĂŵʹϭϭ͘ϯϬĂŵ͘ ^^ĞŶƚĞƌƐ YĂǁƌĂ͗dŚƵƌƐĚĂLJƐ;ǁĞĞŬůLJͿ͗ϴ͗ϬϬĂŵͲϭϮ͗ϬϬƉŵ͘ DƐŝĚĂ͗&ƌŝĚĂLJƐ;ĨŽƌƚŶŝŐŚƚůLJͿ͗ϴ͗ϬϬĂŵͲϭϮ͗ϬϬƉŵ͘ Awtorita` tad-Djar hĸĔũƵƚĂůͲƵƐƚŽŵĞƌĂƌĞʹ.ŝŶŝũŝĞƚƚĂƐͲ^ĂũĨϮϬϭϰ >ͲǁƚŽƌŝƚĂǭƚĂĚͲũĂƌƟdžƟĞƋƚĂǀǏĂůŝůůͲWƵďďůŝŬƵĚǁĂƌůͲŝƐŬĞĚĂƚĂƐͲ^ĂũĨƚĂůͲƵĸĔŝŶŝ ƚĂůͲCustomer Care. DŝƐͲϭϲƚĂ͛*ƵŶũƵƐĂƚͲϯϬƚĂ͛^ĞƩĞŵďƌƵ͕ϮϬϭϰ͗ dĞůĞĨŽŶĂƟ͗dŶĞũŶʹ*ŝŵŐŜĂ͗ϴ͘ϬϬĂŵʹϭϮ͘ϬϬƉŵ͘ &ƚƵŜŐŜĂůůͲƉƵďďůŝŬƵ͗dŶĞũŶ͕důŝĞƚĂ͕.ĂŵŝƐ͕*ŝŵŐŜĂ͗ϴ͘ϬϬĂŵʹϭϭ͘ϯϬĂŵ͘ ĞŶƚƌŝ^^ YĂǁƌĂ͗.ĂŵŝƐ;ŬƵůůœŝŵŐŜĂͿ͗ϴ͘ϬϬĂŵʹϭϮ͘ϬϬƉŵ DƐŝĚĂ͗*ŝŵŐŜĂ;ŬƵůůœŝŵŐŜĂƚĞũŶͿ͗ϴ͘ϬϬĂŵʹϭϮ͘ϬϬƉŵ Edward Zammit Lewis Managing record numbers in tourism When supply is free, demand is infinite 'Over the years successive administrations have pumped millions into social housing'