Protect and move forward. The Delegate of the Government, Sabrina Moh, has used these two words to summarize the action of the Executive of Pedro Sánchez during these months marked by the consequences of the war in Europe.
“Melilla and Spain have continued to advance despite the crises – in reference to Covid and the war in Ukraine – and we have done so precisely because, with the implementation of the largest social shield in the history of this country, workers, the self-employed, the productive fabric, pensioners, public employees, families have been protected, and thanks to the Recovery, Transformation and Residency Plan, we have opted for the modernization of the economy and our companies,” he said.
As explained by the highest representative of the Government of Spain in our city, these crises have been faced by the Government of Spain “with determination, from unity, and with the commitment to use all the necessary resources to protect families, our economy, and our companies.”
Since the beginning of the war, the strategy of the Executive of Pedro Sánchez “has been to allocate everything that was necessary to protect the social majority of Melilla and the whole country,” he said. And, in this sense, it has highlighted that Spain, thanks to the measures taken by the Government, is the country in the eurozone that suffers the lowest inflation and that, thanks to the Iberian exception, pays less for energy.
“When the worst of the pandemic happened, the war came. And despite everything, Melilla today has less than 9,000 unemployed and more than 24,000 members of Social Security”, he has welcomed, but not only that, he has made reference to the fact that 40% of the more than 19,000 contracts that were signed during the last year 2022 have been indefinite.
Increase in pensions and salaries
On the protection axis, Moh has highlighted measures such as the reduction of electricity and gas taxes “which has resulted in an average annual saving of 150 euros in the electricity bill in each home”, the fuel bonus, the 30% reduction in the price of the public transport ticket in Melilla, the reinforcement of scholarships, the limitation of rental prices, the supplements in the IMV or non-contributory pensions.
Precisely, Moh has made reference to the fact that behind these measures there are people. “There are many Melillans men and women who have benefited from these initiatives”, he stressed, such as the 10,680 Melillans who have received the minimum living income, of which more than half are minors; the 8,260 Melillans who have seen their pensions revalued by 8.5%, the largest increase in history; the almost 10,000 public employees who have enjoyed a 2% salary increase, to which an additional 1.5% is added to alleviate the effects caused by inflation; or the 1,754 people who have benefited from the aid of 200 euros.
But the Delegate has also referred to measures to protect employment, the economy, the self-employed and companies, such as the reduction in income from work, which has been extended, benefiting more than 4,500 Melillense workers who have a gross salary of less than 21,000 euros gross per year, since their income tax is reduced by almost 400 euros on average.
Or the more than 2,200 workers from Melilla who paid income tax and who are exempt from doing so thanks to the increase in the minimum tax threshold, which goes from 14,000 to 15,000 euros gross.
And as far as companies are concerned, more than 400 of Melilla benefit from the reduction in the nominal Corporate Tax rate, thanks to which they save more than 715 euros on average.
Fair and effective solutions
Sabrina Moh recalled that, in the previous economic crisis, with the PP, “Spain had to import bailouts for the bank, with a huge price for the economy and employment, and with citizens who had to carry on our backs with wage cuts, with job destruction, with the impoverishment of our pensioners, with the dismantling of the Welfare State...”.
In contrast, “today Spain exports fair and effective solutions to the rest of Europe, which looks at the Spanish model, which is ensuring that the consequences of this crisis are not paid by citizens, public services or our economy,” he stressed.
Therefore, despite the difficulties of the moment and what remains to be faced “in such an unprecedented and complex context”, the Delegate has assured that the solutions against inflation “are a country success, as was the vaccination strategy against Covid-19”.
Over 100 million for Melilla
In his speech, Moh also referred to the support of the Government of Pedro Sánchez to our city in reference to the items that, from the State, have arrived in Melilla, such as the 63 million euros of European funds that the city has received for areas such as mobility, housing, promotion of renewables, social services…
In addition, Melilla has received 33.8 million euros this year in account deliveries and 2.7 million euros to compensate for the economic damage of the change of system implemented by the PP Government for the management of taxes (the SII-VAT System).
Not only that, our city has also received 2.6 million euros for trade modernization, digital transformation and financing strategies for tourism resilience. To this must be added the 13.5 million euros that have been paid to Ceuta and Melilla for compensation for IPSI collection losses.
356 million euros of the Integral Plan
A separate chapter is the one that the Delegate has dedicated to the Comprehensive Socioeconomic Development Plan for Melilla approved by this Government, which Minister Isabel Rodríguez, came to present to our city and which amounts to more than 356 million euros between this 2023 and 2026, with more than 70 measures between investments and reforms, aimed at guaranteeing opportunities for economic growth and social cohesion.
A Comprehensive Plan, he said, that “will mark a before and an after in our city” and that includes measures such as 55 million euros for a new Vocational Training campus, 30 million euros to improve the water supply system to the population or more than 12 million euros for the modernization and digitalization of the industrial fabric and Melillense SMEs.
“A plan that is going to be constituted as a fundamental tool to guarantee economic viability and economic progress and strengthen social cohesion,” Moh stressed.
Family and equality
The Delegate used part of her appearance today to provide some figures from different areas, such as the 19.5 million euros executed in the works of the Hospital; 1.8 million euros for the Co-responsible Plan; 2.5 million for programs of Schools Workshop, Houses of Trades and Workshops of Employment; 1.2 million euros for housing, either through aid or rehabilitation; or 4.5 million to finance care projects.
Within the territorial distribution of the Family Protection and Child Poverty Care Program, he referred to the 1.8 million euros that Melilla has received for different plans and programs.
In terms of equality, Moh has reported the almost 2.3 million euros against gender violence and assistance to victims with which the State has provided our city to, “in collaboration with the vast majority of society, make Melilla and the whole country an increasingly egalitarian and fairer place”.
Youth, culture and sport
With regard to young people, the head of the Government Delegation has reviewed initiatives such as the Young Cultural Voucher, an aid of 400 euros, which has requested more than 440 melillenses. It has also referred to the 250,000 euros to improve the digital skills of children and young people, the 200,000 euros that have been allocated for the Young Rental Voucher or the more than 2,160 scholarship students over 16 years old who have received the additional assistance of 400 euros.
It has also valued the promotion of culture, sport and the protection of heritage that is being done by the Government of Pedro Sánchez in Melilla, with more than 600,000 euros in cultural actions and more than 350,000 euros from the Sports Sector Promotion Plan.
In fact, he recalled that Melilla became the national headquarters of the European Sports Week on September 24, hosting the #BeActive Night, an event with master classes, exhibitions and other activities to promote physical activity.