'All that glitters is not gold' : investigating poverty in the southern harbour district of the Maltese Islands

Abstract

The Maltese Islands have made significant economic progress over the past few decades, which progress has raised the standard of living of society. Nevertheless, the Household Budgetary Survey 2000 revealed that poverty is yet a continual issue in the country, and that it constitutes nearly 14.9 per cent of the Maltese population. This research is focused in the Southern Harbour District of the country, in which the highest concentration of poverty is found. The aims of the research are to achieve a holistic understanding of poverty and its incidence in the Southern Harbour District, and to find out what mitigation measures are taken by the local governments, the parishes, the state schools and the Employment and Training Corporation [ETC] to reduce it. A qualitative approach is taken to obtain a comprehensive account of the situation at present. Several mayors, archpriests, heads of schools, and an employment adviser are selected purposively from seven particular localities within the district, and these are interviewed individually. The findings conclude that local councils, parishes and state schools do not have a formal programme within a legal framework, with which poverty can be prevented or defeated. A vicious circle is highly evident, and this identifies various anomalies that may cause or be the cause of poverty. Consequently, such anomalies reinforce those who experience them towards greater instability. It is often the case that the aforementioned institutions conduct voluntary antipoverty work that is often supplied with insufficient resources. On the other hand, it is established that the tool used to mitigate poverty in the Southern Harbour District by the ETC, is employment itself. Conclusively, the research provides a significant indication that in the Maltese Islands, all that glisters is not gold.