Tnaqqis fil-pensjonijiet fl-aqwa żmien – Michael Briguglio

Ftit ġimgħat ilu, il-Prim Ministru Joseph Muscat wissa li jekk il-Maltin ma jridux aktar barranin, jistgħu jinsew il-pensjonijiet. Żied li, kieku Malta kellha tmur lura għas-sitwazzjoni li kienet fiha qabel, il-pajjiż ma jkunx jista’ jħallas għall-pensjonijiet u jkollu jiżdied il-piż fuq min iħallas it-taxxa.

Kien hemm reazzjonijiet negattivi għal din l-istqarrija minn kull naħa: l-Oppożizzjoni, is-soċjetà ċivili u l-mezzi tax-xandir. Fit-Times of Malta tal-11 ta’ Frar, Carmel Mallia, il-president tal-Alleanza tal-Organizzazzjonijiet tal-Pensjonanti, qal li l-organizzazzjonijiet tal-pensjonanti huma mweġġgħin ħafna minn din l-istqarrija u mħassbin ferm dwarha għaliex, għal darb’oħra, il-pensjonanti qed jingħataw it-tort għall-qagħda soċjali u ekonomika preżenti.

Żied li, f’dawn l-aħħar ħames snin, il-pensjonanti saru dejjem ifqar hekk kif il-prezzijiet tal-prodotti, is-servizzi, il-kera u s-saħħa, fost oħrajn, sparaw ‘il fuq. Fakkar lill-qarrejja tiegħu li, skont il-Eurostat, wieħed minn kull erba’ pensjonanti f’Malta uffiċjalment jinsab f’riskju ta’ faqar minkejja l-boom ekonomiku tal-pajjiż.

Fl-aħħar nett, stieden lill-Prim Ministru jkun trasparenti dwar is-sitwazzjoni preżenti u jiddikjara li l-eżempju tiegħu meta semma l-pensjonijiet ma għandu qatt jitqies bħala theddida għall-pensjonijiet u l-pensjonanti.

Iċ-ċifri uffiċjali b’rabta mal-Att dwar is-Sigurtà Soċjali jistgħu jagħtuna tagħrif siewi. Jekk inħarsu lejn iċ-ċifri l-aktar reċenti, ippubblikati fid-29 ta’ Marzu 2018 fil-Gazzetta tal-Gvern ta’ Malta, insibu li l-fondi mill-kontribuzzjonijiet għas-sigurtà soċjali u l-kontribuzzjoni diretta tal-Istat jammontaw għal €875,053,633. In-nefqa totali għall-pensjonijiet taħt l-iskemi kontributorji tilħaq €749,667,709, u b’hekk tindika bilanċ pożittiv bejn il-kontribuzzjonijiet u n-nefqa fuq il-pensjonijiet. Huwa biss meta jitnaqqsu l-ispejjeż amministrattivi (€8,132,555) u s-servizzi rikorrenti tas-saħħa (€670,074,218) li tirriżulta diskrepanza ta’ €544,688,294 fis-sigurtà soċjali.

Dawn iċ-ċifri juru li kieku l-gvern juża l-kontribuzzjonijiet għall-pensjonijiet, ma jkunx hemm defiċit fil-pensjonijiet. Għalhekk, mhuwiex ġust li t-tort għall-problema li hemm fil-pensjonijiet bħalissa jingħata lill-pensjonanti.

Tabilħaqq, kif xi wħud kitbu tul is-snin li għaddew, il-leġiżlazzjoni ta’ Malta (L-Att dwar is-Sigurtà Soċjali, Kap. 318) ma tawtorizzax li s-servizzi rikorrenti tas-saħħa jitħallsu mis-sigurtà soċjali. Tassew li f’Malta hawn kunsens nazzjonali biex din in-nefqa tiġi ffinanzjata mill-fondi tal-Istat, iżda għaliex għandha tiġi ffinanzjata minn dħul allokat għall-pensjonijiet?

B’rabta ma’ dan, fl-1979, il-prim ministru ta’ dak iż-żmien, Dom Mintoff, neħħa l-Fond għall-Assigurazzjoni Nazzjonali, u l-kontribuzzjonijiet kollha għas-sigurtà soċjali minn min iħaddem, l-impjegati u l-gvern ġew inklużi fil-Fond Konsolidat ta’ Malta, fejn setgħu jintużaw għal spejjeż oħrajn. Barra minn hekk, ir-riformi ta’ Mintoff kienu jfissru wkoll li l-pensjonijiet il-ġodda ‘taż-żewġ terzi’ kienu limitati minkejja l-kontribuzzjonijiet tal-persuna, u li parti min-nefqa tal-gvern kienet titħallas minn dawk li kienu intitolati għal pensjoni mingħand min kien iħaddimhom, kif inhu l-każ tal-pensjonanti tas-servizz li ġew imċaħħda parti mill-pensjoni tal-Istat tagħhom li kemm huma kif ukoll min kien iħaddimhom ikkontribwixxew għaliha.

Qabel l-1979, dawk li kienu ħaddiema taċ-ċivil kienu jirċievu din il-pensjoni tal-assigurazzjoni nazzjonali flimkien ma’ pensjoni tas-servizz mit-Teżor. Il-valur reali ta’ din tal-aħħar ikompli jonqos kull sena. Il-pensjonanti f’din is-sitwazzjoni ilhom iħallsu l-kontribuzzjoni kollha kemm hi għal aktar minn 40 sena iżda jirċievu biss ammont żgħir għal dan. Qiegħdin jikkofinanzjaw pensjonijiet oħrajn permezz tal-kontribuzzjonijiet tagħhom, allura għaliex qed jiġu mċaħħda dak li hu tagħhom bi dritt?

Ta’ min niftakru wkoll li, kif qal Albert Cilia-Vincenti, il-president tal-Assoċjazzjoni Nazzjonali tal- Pensjonanti tas-Servizz, fit-Times of Malta (28 ta’ Jannar), il-gvern ta’ Malta jnaqqas ukoll il-pensjoni kontributorja tas-sigurtà soċjali ta’ Malta għal dawk li jirċievu wkoll pensjoni tas-servizz minn pajjiż ieħor tal-Unjoni Ewropea. Ftit ġimgħat ilu, ktibt lil-Ministru għas-Solidarjetà Soċjali Michael Falzon dwar dan iżda, sa issa, ma ngħatat ebda tweġiba.

Inħoss li l-gvern qiegħed jikkalkula b’mod kliniku li din id-demografika qiegħda tonqos u għaldaqstant qiegħda progressivament titlef l-impatt elettorali tagħha. Għall-kuntrarju, għandna nuru solidarjetà bejn il-ġenerazzjonijiet u niżguraw li l-pensjonanti jgħixu f’dinjità.

Dan l-artiklu deher fil-Mument, 24 ta' Frar 2019

Pension cuts in best of times - Michael Briguglio

Times of Malta, 18 February 2019

A few weeks ago, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat warned that if Malta does not want more foreigners it can say goodbye to pensions. He added that if Malta had to go to back to its previous situation, it would not be able to pay for pensions and would have to increase the burden on the taxpayer.

There were negative reactions to this statement from all quarters: the Opposition, civil society and the media. Writing in the Times of Malta (February 11), Carmel Mallia, president of the Alliance of Pensioners Organisations, said pensioners’ organisations are “very much hurt and concerned by this statement because, once again, pensioners are the scapegoats of the prevailing social and economic situation”.

He added that, in the last five years, “pensioners got poorer and poorer as prices of goods, services, rent, health etc. went sky-high”. He reminded his readers that, according to Eurostat, one out of four pensioners in Malta is officially at risk of poverty in spite of the island’s economic boom.

Finally, he invited the Prime Minister “to be transparent on the prevailing situation and declare that his example referring to pensions should never be considered as a threat to pensions and pensioners”.

Official figures in terms of the Social Security Act can provide some valuable information. If one looks at the most recent figures, published on March 29, 2018 in The Malta Government Gazette, one finds that funds through social security contributions and the direct contribution of the State amount to €875,053,633. Total expenditure for pensions under the contributory schemes amounts to €749,667,709, thus indicating a surplus between contributions and expenditure on pensions. It is when administration expenses (€8,132,555) and health recurrent services (€670,074,218) are deducted that a welfare gap of €544,688,294 results.

These figures show that if the government used contributions for pensions, there would not be a pensions deficit. So, it is not fair to blame pensioners for the current pensions issue.

Indeed, as some have been writing during past years, Malta’s legislation (The Social Security Act, Cap. 318) does not authorise the charging of health recurrent services to social security. Sure, Malta has a national consensus to finance such expenditure from State funds but why should revenue earmarked for pensions finance this?

In this regard, back in 1979, then prime minister Dom Mintoff removed the National Insurance Fund and all social security contributions by employers, employees and the government were included in Malta’s Consolidated Fund, where they could be used for other expenses. Besides, Mintoff’s reforms also meant that the new ‘two-thirds’ pensions were capped despite one’s contributions and that part of the government’s expenditure was paid by those who were entitled to a pension from former employers, as is the case with service pensioners who were denied a portion of their State pension to which both they and their employers had contributed.

Pre-1979, former civil servants receive this national insurance pension together with a service pension from the Treasury. The real value of the latter keeps decreasing every year. Pensioners in this situation have been paying national insurance in full for over 40 years but they only receive a pittance in return. They have been co-financing other pensions through their contributions, so why are they being denied what is theirs by right?

Let us also keep in mind that, as Albert Cilia-Vincenti, president of the National Association of Service Pensioners, remarked in the Times of Malta (January 28), Malta’s government also “deducts the Malta contributory social security pension of those who also receive a service pension from another EU country”. A few weeks ago, I wrote to Social Solidarity Minister Michael Falzon about this but, to date, no reply has been forthcoming.

My feeling is that the government is coldly calculating that this demograph is decreasing and will, thus, progressively lose its electoral impact. To the contrary, we should show cross-generational solidarity and ensure that pensioners live in dignity.

Is the economy improving your quality of life? - Michael Briguglio

The Labour Government is taking the easy route to economic growth: One that is based on the sale of passports, importation of cheap labour and overdependence on construction projects.  These methods are reflected in Malta’s high level of economic growth, but people’s quality of life is being affected negatively in various other respects: From an increase in the cost of living to a deterioration of the environment.

Indeed, the situation on the ground in Malta confirms the paradox that while GDP may be increasing, the quality of life may be deteriorating. The Sustainable Development Vision for 2050 published by the Church’s Environment Commission exemplifies this hypothesis.

Official EU data shows us that Malta tops European levels of built-up areas and pollution. In the meantime, registration of cars keeps increasing, and Government’s main mitigation measure is to widen roads. EU funding in this regard was obtained by the previous Nationalist administration. Surely, it can be used in a more sustainable manner than is currently the case by Labour. In the current scenario, it seems to be the case that Labour’s policies are based on electoral cycles, thus postponing today’s problems and irresponsibly handing them over to tomorrow’s administration and society.

For example, the upgrading of the Kappara junction ignored recommendations by stakeholders such as bicycle users, rendering it unsafe for cyclists and pedestrians. Subsequent projects by Infrastructure Malta are side-lining local councils, experts and civil society. Here one asks whether it is wise to focus entirely on satisfying the appetite for more cars and ignoring erstwhile modal shift methods such as an underground rail system. The fact that government is not even considering alternatives justifies the concerns of the Church Environment Commission.

The same Commission also rightly points out that Malta is overdependent on construction projects. Again, these may inflate economic growth figures, but society is paying the cost of its negative impacts. People around Malta and Gozo are witnessing a deterioration of quality of life courtesy of dust and noise pollution, shadowing, uglification and crumbling infrastructure. Roads and pavements are being left in a very bad state. Urban sprawl is eating up green areas, and permits are not being subjected to proper analysis of their cumulative impacts.

In the meantime, Malta is crying out for a more sustainable vision, and the Nationalist Party promises to implement it. A vision that does not simply look at GDP growth rates but that also factors in people’s quality of life. One that balances economic, social and environmental considerations: Policy making based on evidence, impact assessments and economic diversification rather than overdependence on quick fix methods.

This article appears in the Times of Malta under a different title. 

Valutazzjonijiet tal-impatt soċjali – Michael Briguglio

Ir-residenti jibbenefikaw minn proġetti ta’ żvilupp enormi li jikkummerċjalizzaw art pubblika? Il-bilanċ pożittiv baġitarju ta’ Malta qed jolqot lil gruppi soċjali differenti bl-istess mod? Il-koeżjoni soċjali qiegħda tingħata l-importanza li jistħoqqilha fil-proċess ta’ politika f’Malta? Dawn huma xi wħud mill-mistoqsijiet li jixirqilhom riċerka msejsa fuq l-evidenza permezz ta’ valutazzjonijiet tal-impatt soċjali (social impact assessments).

F’artikli oħra f’din il-gazzetta semmejt il-bżonn li jiġu evalwati l-impatti soċjali ta’ proġetti ta’ żvilupp. Fid-dawl tal-mudell ekonomiku Malti bħalissa, inħoss li llum il-ġurnata l-ħtieġa għal evidenza bħal din hija akbar minn qatt qabel f’oqsma ta’ politika differenti.

Qabelxejn, jista’ jkun li xi qarrejja mhumiex familjari ma’ dan it-terminu. Valutazzjoni tal-impatt soċjali tanalizza l-effetti soċjali tal-iżvilupp u l-bidla soċjali, kemm dawk maħsubin kif ukoll dawk li ma jkunux.

L-Assoċjazzjoni Internazzjonali għall-Valutazzjoni tal-Impatt tiddefinixxi valutazzjoni tal-impatt soċjali bħala l-proċess ta’ analiżi, monitoraġġ u mmaniġġar tal-konsegwenzi soċjali intenzjonati u mhux intenzjonati, kemm pożittivi kif ukoll negattivi, ta’ interventi ppjanati u kull proċess ta’ bidla soċjali mibdi minn dawk l-interventi.

Dawn il-bidliet jistgħu jvarjaw minn diżastri naturali sa tkabbir fil-popolazzjoni u minn interventi ta’ politika sa proġetti waħdanin ta’ żvilupp. Meta jseħħu bidliet bħal dawn, il-valutazzjonijiet tal-impatt soċjali jinvestigaw l-effetti fuq il-ħajja ta’ kuljum tan-nies f’termini ta’ kultura, politika, komunità, saħħa, kuntentizza, aspirazzjonijiet, ħtiġijiet, jeddijiet u responsabbiltajiet, fost oħrajn. Jipprovdu d-data għal tfassil ta’ politika li jkun imsejjes fuq l-evidenza.

Jistgħu jintużaw diversi metodi, kemm kwantitattivi kif ukoll kwalitattivi, fil-valutazzjonijiet tal-impatt soċjali. Il-metodi kwantitattivi jirreferu għal data ġeneralizzabbli speċjalment fl-għamla ta’ numri, filwaqt li dawk kwalitattivi jipproduċu data aktar fil-fond dwar kwistjonijiet partikolari.

Fost il-metodi ta’ riċerka fil-valutazzjonijiet tal-impatt soċjali għaldaqstant jista’ jkun hemm stħarriġ tal-popolazzjonijiet ikkonċernati li jsirulhom mistoqsijiet dwar kif huma jipperċepixxu l-bidla involuta. Metodi etnografiċi jistgħu jinvolvu ħarsa aktar fil-fond lejn il-prattiki ta’ kuljum tan-nies, filwaqt li intervisti jistgħu jivverifikaw il-pariri, it-tħassib u l-interpretazzjonijiet ta’ persuni li għandhom għarfien espert jew esperjenza fil-qasam rispettiv li jkun qed jiġi analizzat.

Il-metodi jistgħu jinvolvu wkoll l-analiżi tad-diskors fuq is-suġġett involut, pereżempju billi jitqies dak li jkun qiegħed jingħad fl-isfera pubblika, sew mill-pubbliku, is-soċjetà ċivili, atturi politiċi, il-mezzi tax-xandir u minn oħrajn .

Il-valutazzjonijiet tal-impatt soċjali għaldaqstant għandhom jinvolvu s-sehem ta’ partijiet interessati differenti, idealment billi titħaddem taħlita ta’ metodi ta’ riċerka.

Aktar milli jkunu eżerċizzji ta’ darba, il-valutazzjonijiet tal-impatt soċjali għandhom ikunu kontinwi, u idealment iwasslu għal politika li tkun aktar xierqa għall-kwistjoni involuta. B’hekk jistgħu jitwettqu rakkomandazzjonijiet u miżuri li jtaffu effetti negattivi, u dawn ikunu msejsa fuq evidenza soċjali xjentifika.

Huwa importanti wkoll li l-valutazzjonijiet tal-impatt soċjali jiġu eżaminati minn persuni bl-istess livell ta’ għarfien espert tal-esperti li jkunu wettquhom. Dan ifisser li jekk ikun qed isir studju minn grupp ta’ esperti fix-xjenzi soċjali, dan l-istudju għandhom jagħmlu skrutinju tiegħu esperti indipendenti oħrajn fix-xjenza soċjali. Dan jista’ jgħin biex jiġu identifikati dgħufijiet, kunflitti u titjib possibbli fl-istess valutazzjoni tal-impatt soċjali.

Kif inhuma l-affarijiet, ma hemm ebda linji gwida nazzjonali dwar il-ħtieġa ta’ valutazzjonijiet tal-impatt soċjali f’Malta. It-twettiq ta’ studji bħal dawn fuq proġetti ta’ żvilupp jiddependi mid-diskrezzjoni tal-Awtorità tal-Ippjanar.

Meta jsiru, b’eċċezzjoni, ikunu studji ta’ darba dwar proġetti kbar ta’ żvilupp. Dan effettivament ifisser li proġetti ta’ żvilupp fuq skala iżgħar b’impatti kumulattivi akbar ma ssirilhomx valutazzjoni tal-impatt soċjali.

Jekk inħarsu lejn interventi oħra ta’ politika, il-valutazzjonijiet tal-impatt soċjali huma prattikament ineżistenti. Fost eżempji oħra, nistgħu nsemmu l-importazzjoni ta’ eluf ta’ ħaddiema, il-bejgħ tal-passaporti, id-dinamika tal-agrikoltura, l-għoli tal-ħajja, l-urbanizzazzjoni u l-kummerċjalizzazzjoni ta’ art pubblika.

Tabilħaqq, hemm bosta oqsma fejn jistgħu jiġu introdotti valutazzjonijiet tal-impatt soċjali f’Malta: il-konsultazzjoni tal-gvern dwar leġiżlazzjoni ġdida, proposti għall-baġit nazzjonali, l-adozzjoni ta’ direttivi tal-UE, il-kumitati parlamentari u l-kunsilli lokali huma biss ftit minnhom. Pereżempju, il-kunsilli lokali jistgħu jwettqu valutazzjonijiet tal-impatt soċjali biex jistabbilixxu profili tal-komunitajiet, elementi kulturali komuni u differenzi kulturali, ħtiġijiet soċjali, id-demografika, l-effetti tal-iżvilupp, u affarijiet oħra.

L-Università ta’ Malta u istituzzjonijiet edukattivi oħrajn bħalissa qed jipproduċu gradwati fi xjenzi soċjali differenti li huma mgħammra biex iwettqu valutazzjonijiet tal-impatt soċjali u li huma sensibbli għall-bżonn ta’ tfassil tal-politika msejjes fuq l-evidenza. Ejjew ma naħlux riżorsi tant importanti. Ejjew nilħqu kunsens politiku biex nintegraw il-valutazzjonijiet tal-impatt soċjali f’kull qasam.

Dan l-artiklu deher fil-Mument

Letter to the Ombudsman regarding Utility Bills

To the Ombudsman of Malta

Dear Ombudsman,

In the past years and especially months, the situation with water and electricity billing in Malta has raised concerns about unfair billing practices, abuse of dominance, state-aid, discrimination among consumers and business, and more recently links with offshore business. Individual queries to State bodies such as ARMS, Enemalta, Water Services Corporation, the Malta Competition and Consumer Affairs Authority, the Competitions Officer, the Consumers’ Office, and the Regulator for Energy and Water Services are sending customers and journalists in circles. I am therefore asking you to provide answers to the following queries related to the matter:

Billing:

Is it legal for ARMS ltd to reduce the annual quotas foreseen in the legal notice by bulking prior period consumption into shorter billing periods or by rationing the annual quota into discreet short-period quantities?

Is the ARMS billing procedure clear and understandable to Maltese households?

How many billing queries have ARMS ltd received annually since operation?

Threats of cut off:

Do customers have the right to contest a bill without paying interest or risk of cut-off?

How are they to do this?

Loans, interest rates and ad hoc fees:

At what rate is ARMS entitled to charge interest on loan facilities?

Is Arms entitled to create and impose ad hoc fees that are not foreseen in the law (e.g. 13% to revise a bulking error)

Discrimination:

Is ARMS entitled to discriminate between residents on the basis of the type of accommodation they live in (Domestic vs Resident)?

Why do non-residents pay less per unit at higher consumption while residents pay more per unit?

Can ARMS cross-subsidise one group of users by another? 

Is it acceptable that residents are put on different billing periods (2 month vs 6 month) when these result in material differences to the rate applicable?

Ownership and regulation:

Who do Enemalta, the Water Services Corporation belong to?

Who does Arms ltd belong to?

Which entity regulates EneMalta, WSC and ARMS?

Looking forward to your reply,

Dr Michael Briguglio

Xogħol inviżibbli u emozzjonali – Michael Briguglio

Bosta anzjani huma membri ta’ familja, ġenituri, nanniet u zijiet. Ħafna jieħdu ħsieb lil ħaddieħor, minn anzjani oħra sa tfal fil-ħajja ta’ kuljum tagħhom. Hemm ukoll numru sostanzjali ta’ anzjani li jagħmlu xogħol volontarju: Min f’xi għaqda jew istituzzjoni, min fil-komunita’, u min billi jgħin lil ħaddieħor b’sens ċiviku. Jaqsmu l-erf, l-esperjenza u l-maturita’ tagħhom ma’ ħaddieħor.

Dan ix-xogħol m’huwiex ikluz f’ċifri uffiċjali bħall-Prodott Gross Domestiku. Kemm il-darba huwa inviżżibli fl-istatistika ekonomika. Kemm il-darba huwa inviżibbli ukoll mid-diskors jew kunsiderazzjonijiet politiċi.

Iżda tista’ timmaġina s-soċjeta’ tagħna mingħajr dan ix-xogħol? Mingħajr dik in-nanna li b’tant imħabba tieħu ħsieb lin-neputijiet u timlihom b’imħabba, jew mingħajr dak in-nannu li jilgħab magħhom b’entużjażmu? Mingħajr dak il-politiku għaref li jagħti l-pariri frott l-esperjenza tiegħu? Mingħajr dik l-eks għalliema li taqsam l-erf tagħha f’xi għaqda non-governattiva? Mingħajr dak l-eks ħaddiem li ta’ kuljum jagħmel is-sagrifiċċji għall-familja tiegħu?

Kemm il-darba, l-anzjani jagħmlu xogħol ‘emozzjonali’ u ‘inviżibbli’ li ma jingħatax ir-rikonixximent li jixraqlu. Iżda nafu li dan ix-xogħol hu bla prezz. Għalhekk, l-anzjani m’humiex il-vuċijiet tal-bieraħ, iżda huma protagonisti fil-soċjeta’ ta’ kuljum. U ta’ dan nirringrazzjawhom u għandna nroddu lura rispett, biex verament ikollna soċjeta’ li jimpurtaha.

Social Impact Assessments - Michael Briguglio

Times of Malta, 11 February 2019

Do residents benefit from massive development projects which commercialise public land? Is Malta’s budgetary surplus impacting different social groups in an equitable manner? Is social cohesion given the importance it deserves in Malta’s policy process? These are some questions which merit evidence-based research through social impact assessments (SIAs).

In previous articles in this newspaper I referred to the need to assess the social impacts of development projects. In view of Malta’s current economic model, I feel that the need for such evidence is needed now more than ever in different policy areas.

First things first. Some readers may not be conversant with this term. A social impact assessment reviews the social effects of development and social change, both intended and not.

The International Association for Impact Assessment defines an SIA as the process of analysing, monitoring and managing the intended and unintended social consequences, both positive and negative, of planned interventions and any social change processes invoked by those interventions.

Such changes may range from natural disasters to population growth and from policy interventions to singular development projects. Consequently, SIAs investigate the effects on people’s everyday lives in terms of culture, politics, community, health, well-being, aspirations, needs, rights and responsibilities, to name a few.  They provide data for policymaking, which is based on evidence.

Various methods, both quantitative and qualitative could be used within social impact assessments. The former refers to generalisable data especially through numbers, while the latter produce in-depth data on matters.

Research methods in SIAs may therefore include surveys of concerned populations who are asked questions on their perceptions of the change in question. Ethnographic methods may involve a deeper look into everyday practices of people, while elite interviews may verify the advice, concerns and interpretations of persons who are experts or who have experience in the respective field under analysis.

Methods may also involve the analysis of discourse on the subject in question, for example by looking at what is being pronounced in the public sphere, whether by the public, civil society, political actors, the media and the like.

SIAs should thus involve the participation of different stakeholders, ideally through mixed research methods.

Rather than being one-off exercises, SIAs should be continuous, ideally resulting in policies which are better suitable to the issue in question. Recommendations and mitigation measures could therefore be in place, and these would be based on social-scientific evidence.

It is also important that SIAs are peer-reviewed. This means that if a study is being carried out by a team of social scientists, this should be scrutinised by other independent social scientists. This could help identify shortcomings, conflicts and possible improvements to the same SIA.

As things stand, there are no national guidelines on the need for SIAs in Malta. The conducting of such studies on development projects is at the discretion of the Planning Authority.

When exceptionally carried out, they are one-off studies on major development projects. This effectively means that smaller-scale development projects with bigger cumulative impacts are not subjected to SIAs.

If one looks at other policy interventions, SIAs are practically absent. Just to name a few: the importation of thousands of workers, the selling of passports, the dynamics of agriculture, the cost of living, urbanisation, the commercialisation of public land.

Indeed, there are so many areas where SIAs could be introduced in Malta: government consultation on new legislation, proposals in the national budget, the adoption of EU directives, parliamentary committees and local councils are just some areas. For example, the latter could carry out SIAs to establish community profiles, cultural commonalities and differences, social needs, demographics, impacts of development and so forth.

The University of Malta and other educational institutions are currently producing graduates in different social sciences who are equipped to carry out SIAs and who are sensible to the need for evidence-based policymaking. Let us not waste such important resources. Let us have political consensus to mainstream social impact assessments.