Speech by The Hon. J. Dalli, at the 'Council of Europe' and
'Foundation for Human Resouces Development' seminar entitled:
'At work, but poor and without voice?'
[14/10/2009]NO. 1760
Mr Chairman, Mr Vladychenko, distinguished delegates and colleagues.
It is a great pleasure and an honour to welcome you to Malta to discuss
two reports which you have been working on for some time. These reports deal
with two important issues of high priority for any Government as they are so
critical for social cohesion – how to empower people who are experiencing extreme
poverty and how to change the situation of low income workers. Your specific social
policy recommendations are therefore very relevant especially given the current
economic environment.
In today’s globalised world and interdependence any separation between economic
and social policy is artificial and no longer meaningful. Social wellbeing and economic
development has become a societal thing and the concern of everyone. This is not to say that
Governments should abdicate their responsibility to ensure the well being of society especially
those at risk of social exclusion. However it is a growing feeling in most of our societies that
citizens increasingly want to determine their own future while having a stake in the management of
their environment whether that is the physical, the economic or social environment.
They look at the role of Government as a facilitator in their quest to realize their life and
community projects.
While the importance of private entrepreneurs and enterprises are undisputable and therefore
attracted many incentives for growth, Governments have often overlooked the capacity of
civic society generally and individual citizens in particular to generate social cohesion and
even wealth. Instead Governments tended to pursue policies that made citizens dependent on the
State as opposed to empowering them to forge an independent future. For this reason I applaud
the notion of activation and societal integration which is emphasised in both the Moscow Strategy
report and these reports that you have before you today.
I am aware that often activation is promoted more for its positive economic implications as opposed to the strict value of social solidarity but I am a strong believer that the notion of activation can have very broader positive impact for the individual and society. Activation denotes responsibility for oneself and for others and therefore activation is an important function of empowerment both for self and for community development.
In this respect, my Ministry is actively seeking partnerships with non Governmental organisations and incentives were introduced to enhance their capacity. Furthermore we are reviewing policies to ensure that on one hand, service users are not mere recipients of benefits and services but active partners in the type and quality of the service delivered and on the other responsible partners who are accountable for the support that society gives them. This is done through empowering the individual to take control of his or her life projects and forge a good and independent future.
My Ministry is also committed to deliver the real needs and not perceived needs with emphasis on quality, cost effectiveness and value for money. We embarked on an operations audit of the health sector that will look into the demand for services and how well these are being met and at what cost. This information will help us to re-structure the health and social services.
Our health, social welfare, social security, housing , employment and education policies are not an end in themselves but meant to develop and assist the person holistically in order for him or her to forge a meaningful and rewarding future. This is what I believe to by empowerment.
We are also paying particular attention to develop the critical mass of qualified human resources. In this respect Good Governance is called for in the likes of Service Leaders. I say leaders because even in public services we need people who are able to go beyond mere managing and into inspiring. We do not only need technical competence but people who have the ability to inspire and achieve results.
So at a time when we are geared to get the wheels of success turning again, we should not overlook the potential of the capacity of individuals and communities to;
1 build social capital by synergizing competencies for innovation,
2 create social cohesion by building relationships and capitalizing on diversity,
3 generate wealth by nurturing micro enterprise and sustainable new initiatives.
As a policy measure Government launched in 2002 a pilot project ACCESS, a one stop shop of social welfare services which reflected the policy document of the Council of Europe Access to Social Rights.
This is what our citizens want. They want to take control of their life project and therefore demand services and institutions that respond to the changing realities and to find assistance in time and of the quality that bridge their predicament fast and effective.
They are demanding the space where they can exercise self trust through life long learning, initiative and enterprise.
Your meeting in Malta will go some way into making an effective contribution in this direction.
May I take this opportunity to thank the Council of Europe for choosing Malta to conduct this meeting and the Foundation for Human Resources Development for partnering with the Council for this seminar. This is a good tandem as the Foundation is a joint initiative between Government and the private sector intended to be a catalyst for human resources development and management on the island.
I hope that your stay in Malta will be an enjoyable one for you while wishing you all the best in your work.
DOI – 14.10.2009
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