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Kurt Sansone
Speaking for the first time in no unclear terms, Labour leader Alfred Sant said that government’s timescale to adopt the Euro by 1 January 2008 is premature.
Interviewed by sister publication Business Today, Sant insisted that before Malta can achieve healthy growth and bring down its national debt, introducing the Euro by 2008 could create problems.
“Before we achieve certain targets, especially healthy economic growth rates we would be putting the cart before the horse by introducing the Euro,” Sant told the newspaper.
But if the Labour Party is returned to government in 2008 after the Euro would have been introduced, do not expect any shock decisions. “If the Euro is already in place then there isn’t much to do,” he said, practically ruling out any withdrawal from the single currency.
The Labour leader cautions against further erosion of Malta’s competitiveness, a situation, he believes can occur if the Euro is introduced at a time when the economy is underperforming.
“If we have an economy that is on par with other EU countries, then it is alright to introduce the Euro now that we are members of this bloc. But if our economy is underperforming and the national debt remains way above the EU average, the Euro can create problems,” Sant said.
The Labour leader also shed doubt on the National Statistics Office’s figures showing economic growth of 2.5 per cent for 2005.
The statistics do not tally with the prevailing feeling among business operators, Sant said.
“If you were to look at the updated convergence plan published in December by government and the statistics published by the NSO some two months after, there is total divergence. If the EU is happy with these statistics or if bankers are content then so be it. But if people, businesses, industrialists, tourist operators are talking to us about their problems, if exports are falling and tourist numbers are not increasing, isn’t it time to reflect seriously on the statistics being produced?”
He insisted on a thorough re-evaluation on the way statistics are drawn up.
Alfred Sant also spoke about pension reform saying that the Labour Party will be drawing up its own study and coming out with proposals in two months’ time.
Asked whether businesspersons can trust a Labour government, Sant tried to allay their fears: “It is true that quite a number of businessmen are Nationalists but at the end of the day it is the country which counts and the balance sheet. And we are interested in their balance sheets because if they are good, they will employ people and the country will move ahead.”
Sant insisted the business community cannot trust the Nationalist Party because they were promised “pie in the sky and over the last three years most of them are paying for it.” “They’ve got to decide. We’ve always said what we believed in and put before us achievable targets,” Sant insisted.
Queried about Labour’s economic policy if elected to government, Sant outlined the reduction in the tax burden on tourism as one of the first steps to be taken to kick start the economy.
He said that Labour would go for economic growth rather than raise taxes to ensure the right revenue is generated to sustain the social model. As for the bloated civil service, he insisted the solution is better management of resources rather than making people redundant.
ksansone@mediatoday.com.mt
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