The government continues to help voluntary organizations in cultural and other activities that are staged in the Maltese and Gozitan communities.
Through an agreement between the LESA Agency and the Association of Local Councils, the LESA Agency will be transferring €600,000 over two years to the Regional Committees so that they are available and used by local councils and associations volunteers in the various Maltese and Gozitan localities.
In this way they will be helped with the costs linked to the payments of Police, LESA officers and Civil Protection during cultural and other activities that are organized from time to time. This initiative, which links to other initiatives taken in recent years in relation to cultural activities, was announced by the Minister for National Heritage, Arts and Local Government Owen Bonnici, by the Minister for the Interior , Security, Reforms and Equality Byron Camilleri, and Parliamentary Secretary for Local Government Alison Zerafa Civelli.
Minister Owen Bonnici spoke about the importance of the Government continuing to promote activities in the localities to strengthen the sense of community. “We are close to voluntary organizations and sensitive to what they would like us to address. This is why this scheme is being made to give help to strengthen the cultural and other activities that take place in our villages, towns and communities,” said Minister Bonnici, while emphasizing that this help is in addition with all the aids that are already given. “When we strengthen our communities, we are investing in resilient communities that can meet community and local challenges. We believe that the value of working in the community is our responsibility to sustain it in order to strengthen and celebrate what makes us who we are,” concluded Minister Bonnici.
The Minister Byron Camilleri explained that the LESA Agency will give six hundred thousand euros from its funds, to the Regional Committees in order to cover the services of various entities that fall under the Ministry of the Interior and Security . He went on to explain that when cultural and other activities are organised, one has to close certain roads to traffic and also there is a need for police on extra duty, or other officers during the activity.
“This government has been and will continue to support cultural and other activities through this aid so that, in the end, through these activities, we have living communities and a better quality of life for residents and everyone who visits the activities. Apart from these initiatives, the LESA Agency is also doing several other projects in the heart of the communities, both in partnership with the Local Councils and even with other voluntary organizations and this is according to the strategy of the Agency which distributes the -funds from the summons back in investment to the communities,” concluded Minister Camilleri.
Parliamentary Secretary Alison Zerafa Civelli said that through these additional funds the local councils will be in a position to allocate more funds to the activities organized by them in the localities. “This means that the residents will be enjoying a higher level of local socio-cultural activities,” explained Zerafa Civelli. She stressed that this initiative is another proof of the synergy that exists and how close the Government is to the communities. The funds that the LESA Agency will give to the Regional Councils will be distributed over two years, and will be equal for each region. The agreement is effective from 12 May 2023.
Photos: DOI/MHAL/MHSR
