Lawmakers concerned with return of quality of life post-pandemic

Ella Lei

Several lawmakers have expressed concerns over what they called the lack of a return of residents’ quality of life post-pandemic.

Lawmakers expressed concerns in several spoken inquiries to the government in the period before the agenda of yesterday’s Legislative Assembly session.

The first addressing the issue was Ella Lei who noted that while the economic recovery is already happening and major companies are returning to big profits, the same is not happening to most of the population and families that are still struggling to make ends meet.

Lei noted inflation and interest rates rises are affecting the life of the population, with families calling for the reduction of the price of goods as well as the launching of measures of support to the population.

Lei Chan U

“The residents’ unemployment rate dropped to 3.6%, however, the median income of residents in several sectors, including construction, wholesale, catering, transport and real estate, remains lower than pre-pandemic, and many workers are affected,” she said, also noting that after three years of the pandemic, “residents’ expenses have risen, and rising interest rates have also added to the pressure on many families.”

Giving concrete examples the lawmaker noted that, for instance, “for the repayment of a housing loan of 3 million patacas over 30 years, the rising interest rates force the families to an extra monthly effort of over 1,000 patacas, which, represents 5% of the average income.”

She added that because of this, the banking system is already recording a significant increase in the percentage of loans that are not being repaid, namely on those related to housing mortgages.

Forecasting an even more serious situation soon, the lawmaker called on the government to act now and launch measures to control the consumer price hike as well as compensate for the hike of interest rates through special support.

Addressing a similar topic, lawmaker Lei Chan U noted the same problems calling on the government to support families and create measures that favor social stability.

To prioritize the family in difficult times, Lei Chan U called on the government to establish June 1 (Children’s Day and Global Day of Parents) as a new public holiday to highlight the importance of family as the “society’s cellular unit.”