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60,000 Maltese at ‘risk of poverty’ as President warns of widening social divide
14.6 per cent of the Maltese, totaling an average 60,000 persons are “at risk of poverty” according to Eurostat, the EU’s statistical office.
13 December 2010, 12:00am
Karl Stagno-Navarra
Karl Stagno-Navarra
2 min read
The figures, relate to a survey on income and living conditions in Europe, that revealed how a total of 81 million people around the 27 EU member states were at risk of poverty.
In its report, Eurostat explained that the definition “at risk of poverty” refersto those living in a household with a disposable income that is below the risk-of-poverty threshold, which is set at 60% of the national median disposable income.
The findings show that in Malta, out of 60,000 who were “at risk of poverty” a total of 16,000 were “severely materially deprived.”
This category are finding it difficult to pay their rents, mortgage or utility bills, keep their home adequately warm or face unexpected expenses.
Eurostat explained that they also could not afford to eat meat, fish or protein equivalent every second day and cannot afford a car, washing machine, colour TV or telephone.
The vast majority are unemployed, single mothers, pensioners or in jobs with the lowest wage brackets.
An alarm bell on poverty and families finding difficult to cope with cost of living was sounded by President George Abela during his speech that marked Republic Day during a ceremony at the Palace in Valletta.
President Abela referred to the recently prepared Household Budgetary Survey that revealed how 14 per cent of Maltese are at risk of poverty.
“It is possible that the gap between those who are in the higher income bracket and those whose income does not reach adequate levels is widening,” the President warned, stressing on the need to find out why a section of the population is lagging behind.
While mentioning the social problems that seem to be endemic around the Grand Harbour areas, President George Abela warned however, that financial assistance was “not enough.”
He added that reasons for people falling back in this category need to be determined and stressed that: “I feel we have not yet found the way to effectively fight the phenomenon of a section of the low-income population, more prone to social problems and lacking a sufficient level of education, being concentrated around the Grand Harbour area.”
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Dear Maltese citizens,welcome to the EUSSR and the You/Owe zone.
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The comments by the correspondents seem at variance with the report.
What Malta needs is all these jobs being promoted in the Islands under the guise we read about in the Malta star earlier this year. Do you recall MALTATODAY that there is a proposal by a British Comapny to build a Bioethanol plant in Malta which will create at least 140 permanent highly-paid technician jobs on the site with an additional 4 times that in upside positions to support this. This project which was reported to represent a €100 million inward investment is currently being reviewed in the potential location, and is we understand being totally financed fromoutside Malta.
Then as the previous notes also stated there is another proposal by the same British company and about twice the size to build a similar Bioerthanol project in Malta which would need around 200 or more permanent and equally highly-paid technician style jobs both in Malta and Gozo to work on the sites and that would also be supported with an equivalent upside positions to support this. This second peoject was also reported to be at €140+ million and as above we read would be financed from outside Malta.
Now you may ask what is the relevance of such to the main article here? Well simply put if - as is likely these projects get started in 2011 - and they are finished an working in 2 to 3 years time they would provide a welcome fillip for employment opportunities in Malta/Gozo and help relieve the burden of those who are suffering from poverty issue through lack of employment and other issues which these projects would in part resolve. The Government and their Malta Enterprise agency currently assisting the proposal which was we understand first proposed in the autumn of 2009 must ensure that these projects go ahead before they are moved elsewhere from Malta. All to often we see such enterprising and inspirational programmes being delayed when the benefits are so manifestly good to us in Malta.
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Some were saying, where is the poverty, if the parties collected about € 600,000.
Does anybody think that this amount comes from il-popolin, that cannot even afford to pay the W&E bills.
Here we are not talking about the bottom end. Even the so called middle class just cannot make ends meet.
So many people are going to The Point, nice place, but ask the shop owners. Disastru. And this in Christmas time.
The sales maybe just cover the wages, and the rest of the daily running expenses, rents, W&E, VAT. Minn fejn???
Il kbir ghadu gej.....
Phillip Martin Micallef •
hemm bzonn jigi l-president biex jghidilna dan???...............mela veru sirna poplu bla fibra?..................dan immisu gab Lou Bondi l-bierah B+ u mux erba zghazagh li l-genituri taghhom jaqalawa sew, fosthom kollegi tieghu u ta WE!!...........x ipokrizzija dan il-pajjiz!!
semmejtu l-knisja?..xi knisja knisja. l-kuntrarju ta li ghalimna Kristu qeda taghmel.
Lino Camilleri •
Marquette il knisja mixtrija bil flus. Il knisja tal lum mhix il knisja li bena Kristu.
Il knisja f'malta ghamlet hafna hsara rreperabli lill poplu.Hawn hafna familji ghadhom u jibqu isofru minhabba l-hsara li wetqet il knisja specjalment fl-imghoddi
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There you go 60,000 Maltese at risk of poverty, is this what this bull Pm meant when he said that we are doing better then some countries in Europe? Doing better Who?, not the ordinary man. Where is the church? what is it doing?Is it not a sin to see a Maltese family struggling just to survive? where is their suppose Christian teaching.You are just as corrupted as this Pn government.
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Thisis what EU membership means. Remember that we are paying the EU €186,000 EVERY DAY apart from other payments such as all customs duties and levies while we pay the customs officers to collect them for the EU and so many other losses, unemployment, illegal immigrants invasion, foreign workers invasion and many more bad effects. Let's leave as we have every right and duty to ourselves, our children and our dear country. See thsi European Parliament how we can leave
.http://www.europarltv.europa.eu/YourParliament.aspx?action=viewVideo&packageid=f5077c6b-3b92-4a1f-8271-c7a49c3bc6e8
If you want to see what is happening to the euro go to
http://www.eupettydictators.webs.com/ and click on the links pages and also on the videos pages.
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Can we trust Dr Gonzi?
a) An increase in the Water and Electricity bills with no more energy vouchers given.
b) A drastic increase in the car licenses which are increasing every year.
c) A drastic increase in the gas cylinders (Now Eur15.60c) 12kg
d) A drastic increase in Fuel (in the budget and after the budget).
e) An increase in the price of Alcahol in the budget.
f) An increase in the price of Cigarettes.
g) A drastic increase in MEPA tarrifs.
h) An increase in the price of Cement.
i) The National Insurance increases from January 2011.
j) We have to pay to use the Park and Ride.
We had all these drastic taxes when our wages are the lowest compared with other European Countries.
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Imma kemm saddumu boloh.
Is Sur President ghamel din ir- riflessjoni halli kulhadd jiehu hsieb ghall ISTRINA.
Qieghed jitfalkhom il-lixka u kullhadd qed jibla is sunnara.
Smajtu lill xi hadd minnhom jghidu li sejrin inaqsu il budget taghhom?
Hawn xi hadd jahseb li dawn veru ghandhom xi kuxjenza ghall haddiem?
Dawn kollha maqughdin qaccocca ghalhekk gabu lill Malta fixxa.
Smarten up guys and when you see any of these hypocrites donating the same percentage from their salaries like the working men and women then you could put some truth to what they say.
In the meantime remember that what they are doing is putting social services on the back of the tax payers so that they can continue to dismantle the assets of the republic.
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We do with less so they can have more. I don't think any of the ever expanding political class are at any risk of poverty any time soon.
Electricity, fuel, taxes on cars, taxes on salaries, VAT, medical expenses, massive inefficiencies and a political class on an orgy of corruption and consumption. In the end it has to balance out and the that means more and more people find that their money has been taken out of their hands and they have a problem even affording the bare necessities.
Lino Camilleri •
@consequences
If you want to call it communism you can say so and that is the way the world should be adopting now. Do you think you are living in a democratic world?. Do you think you can manage your own goods and money the way you sincerely want?. You should reflect and be aware that your money like everyone else are being manipulated and stolen in a secrets manner under such excuses.Like for example the global warming, envirnment and so on.
People around the globe should wake up and not swallow everything our politicians say. We are seeing and reading now how the world is working.
Look at the wilkileaks. Do you think that we are virgins? All politics is corrupt
and as far as humankind will be in existing nobody is able to destroy it. It can be destroyed by only one means. Think about it
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Mr President,
Since you are so thoughtful of the poor, how about doing away with the Midnight Mass (where 700 guests are expected) and donating the circa 6000 Euros expense to the poor. Better still, do away with the Xmas logs being prepared for your staff, which goes against standing financial regulations unless being paid for by yourself, and give them to the poor. Go ahead lead by example.
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Warns who?
Jon Sciberras •
Jerry, thats called Communism. The problem lies within social and moral obligations. Taxes do not hurt the rich, but the middle and poorer classes. When you reduce tax, lessen the necessities or burdens such as Water and Electricity, medical expenses including medicines, education and housing for example. That way the middle to lower income would manage to improve. The way this gov't works is exactly in reverse, do you know why. Because they are alright with a large income, and bonuses to boot, not to mention a nice pension awaiting them. So up yours Jerry, I'm alright he said.
Isabelle Borg •
L-Aqwa li ha jiehdu iz-zieda b'lura huma. X'jinterreshom min dawn.
duncan abela •
The President has rightly highlighted a serious social problem namely the widening gulf between the have and have nots. The EU statistics have fully justified his concerns.Without dispensing social benefits willy nilly and creating a permanent problem we have to find ways of helping those at the edges of society. Many of them find themselves in a social trap from which they cannot without coordinated support climb out and which not only condemns them but more worrying condemns their children to a future life of second class underdogs. Unfortunately the social concertina has been widening over the last few years with the difference between those on a minimum wage ,let alone living on social benefits, and those on high salaries reaching scandalous proportions. A major effort is required by the social services ministry and all social and employment agencies to tackle the situation.
Rather than criticise and pooh pooh the concept of a living wage as proposed by the leader of the opposition we should embrace it and develop it further to address material and social poverty. Let us resist the temptation of reducing the tax rates for the high earners. Rather we should create a higher tax band for the fat cats who earn more than a socially fair multiple of the minimum wage. With his practical initiatives the President has shown himself as a beacon for awakening a national social conscience and as a person above partisan politics he should serve as the focal point for innovative national initiatives to address and miitigate this serious problem.
Lino Camilleri •
Hemm soluzjoni Sur President.
Inpoggu il flus tal maltin kollha inkluzi hekk imsejhin kbarat u allat u parlamentari go qoffa wahda. Imbghad int qassam ugwali lill familji kollha maltin kif jaghmel Alla meta nghidu li halaqna suppost ugwali. Imbaghad kullhadd ikun komdu.
