With reference to the article ‘Poverty is real in Malta’ (February 7), the Ministry for the Family and Social Solidarity fully concurs with George Zammit’s statement that poverty is not a perception but a reality. That is why the ministry will continue to assist Zammit and his family as it has done for the past three years.

This government has introduced a number of measures to effectively address this reality inherited from the previous administration. From its first year in office, the government has taken a practical and holistic approach towards this reality by reducing utility tariffs, thus alleviating the heavy burden on families, like Zammit’s, in an immediate and direct manner.

Furthermore, the government has introduced initiatives and new benefits explicitly targeted at families like Zammit’s to considerably increase the family income. It is worth noting that families like Zammit’s receive benefits of not less than €11,000 annually, as opposed to the €600 monthly reported in the said article, besides entitlement to free medicine. It is also worth noting that, this year, the government will further assist families like Zammit’s by affording them cheaper government housing rents and by refunding the rent increase imposed upon them by the previous government.

Moreover, thousands of families who, for ages, had been condemned to the social benefit trap by the previous administration and who, over these last three years, have chosen to enter the labour market, are now enjoying new benefits like tapering and in-work benefits. In so doing, they became entitled to a substantial increase in their income, enabling them to climb out of the risk of poverty and significantly improve their standard of living and quality of life.

Through the LEAP! project, the government is offering professional support to families like Zammit’s to help and guide them in any possible way to overcome their precarious situation. Assistance is also extended in the form of specialised courses on family budgeting, which are being organised in various localities in collaboration with local councils.

It is relevant to note that families like Zammit’s are also benefitting regularly from EU-funded food distribution, apart from another State-funded food distribution scheme that will be launched in the coming weeks.

All this is being fulfilled as the government genuinely acknowledges that poverty is a reality and not a perception.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.