‘Optimistic’ Muscat says government’s next challenge is infrastructure

An optimistic Joseph Muscat addressed the closing session of the government roadshow, Gvern li Jisma’, telling members of the public gathered at the Cittadella in Gozo that the government would now be focusing on improving people’s quality of life.

“We have succeeded in reviving the country’s economy and we have dealt with problems ignored by the previous administrations. Our next ambitious projects will target people’s quality of life,” he said.

Flanked by deputy prime minister Louis Grech, Muscat reiterated that the Labour administration’s plan had always been one targeting economic growth, before moving on to the other stages.

“We took decisions on energy because it was a big burden on the economy and Maltese families. At the same time, we fixed the economy. We had a deficit that was above 4%, which we have brought down to 0.7%. We also managed to erase all the government debt that was created over the past legislature,” he said.

According to the Prime Minister, the country’s biggest deficit is now its infrastructure, an area that will become central to the government’s future plans.

“We are a pro-business government and we will remain a pro-business government,” he said, adding that being pro-business meant that the country was creating jobs, which in turn meant more tax revenue, less people on benefits and therefore more money for the government to invest in the people. “This is what we call prosperity with a purpose,” he said.

“We are delivering on what we promised. People are feeling the change the country has gone through. They have more money in their pockets, they can feel the difference in air quality, and in Gozo we have implemented a lot of projects that were long overdue.”

This was echoed by Grech, who said that the government believes in Gozo and in the Gozitan people. He said that in the coming weeks, the government would be launching a strategy for Gozo that will make use of both European and national funds and which will aim to, among other things, give Gozo greater economic independence.

He said that the government had so far executed roughly 80% of its electoral promises and would continue working to implement more.

The Prime Minister also touched upon a number of other issues such as small and medium enterprises, who he said the government had helped by improving access to funding and reducing bureaucracy, the new Gozo hospital which he said would allow Gozitan’s to benefit from world-class healthcare.

Poverty, rents and pensions

Muscat reassured pensioners that the increase in pensions was not a one-time deal and would continue in the years to come.

“We have increased them for two consecutive years, starting with those that were earning the least,” he said, adding that the government would continue giving to those that needed the most.

Turning to the issue of high rental prices, Muscat said that social solidarity minister Michael Farrugia was working on proposals to increase the number of people that can apply for rental subsidies, noting that these had also been doubled to address the issue.

““It is still not enough. Some people’s rents are increasing at a much faster rate and this is partly because foreign workers are coming here to work,” explained Muscat. He said however that the government is exploring additional measures to tackle the problem.

Grech acknowledged that it was difficult for those living on the minimum wage to cope with increasing rent prices, adding that the two had to be discussed together.

“In the last budget we were the first to see that an increase in the minimum wage was needed and we took on the responsibility ourselves without burdening employers,” he said.

On people with a disability, Muscat said that one of the measures introduced by the government that gives him most satisfaction is the implementation of quotas on the number of people with a disability that must be employed by companies.

This, he said, had given many people the opportunity to join the workforce and to become more independent that had been in the past. He said that although many had succeeded in finding employment, they were allowed to keep their disability benefit.

The Prime Minister also said that over the past weeks, an agreement had been reached with the Church, that will see it implement a similar quota.

Opposition's suggestions 'worth considering'

On Air Malta, Muscat said the government has a strong track record in turning around companies.

“We talk of Enemalta and rightly so because had the situation not been fixed, today we would be talking about a disastrous situation,” he said, adding that the consequence of inaction would have been a great deal of job losses, both at Enemalta, and throughout the rest of the country.

The same had been done with Gozo Channel, which was now turning a profit, and other small companies, he said.

“We were always very cautious in the way we spoke about Air Malta but the fact is that we were faced with an agreement signed by the previous administration which effectively said that this would be the last time the government would be helping Air Malta,” he said.

“We worked for the restructuring plan to work as well as possible but there are still many decisions that need to be taken.”

Muscat said he had taken note of the opposition’s suggestions and that some suggestions made were worth considering. He said however that, unlike what seems to be opposition’s position, he did not agree with a situation where the government is no longer the majority shareholder in Air Malta.

“I do not agree with this because we would be giving up our say in what is a very important and strategic asset,” said Muscat.

'Committed to constructing Gozo tunnel'

According to the Prime Minister, the government is as committed as ever to see a tunnel connecting Malta and Gozo built, however he stressed that the most feasible way of executing the project must be found. He explained that geological tests were underway, and some results were starting to come int.

“As soon as we finish these tests, assuming we are told that it can be done, then we will issue a tender for the tunnel to become a reality,” said Muscat. “This is why we need an economy that is performing well.”

He warned however that the tunnel would take five to six years to complete, and would also bring with a number of other problems that need solving, such as the locations where the tunnel will start and end, as well as its environmental impact.

Labour 'unfairly criticised' on environment

On the environment, Muscat said that his administration was at times unfairly criticised for its environmental track record, despite the fact that the government had developed far less ODZ land than previous administrations.

He said that despite the limited space, the government had in many cases sought to develop areas that did not leave a negative impact on the environment.

The Prime Minister explained that a decision had been taken this week to issue a tender for a new international school to open in Malta, and had decided to convert an old unused in Mtarfa.

With limited space to build on, Muscat said that the government wanted to avoid using ODZ land, while at the same time catering for the country’s needs. He said that with the increase in foreign workers, especially in the gaming industry, the lack of schools teaching an international curriculum was a problem that needed to be addressed.

Grech said that the tender will prohibit whoever is selected from developing the school beyond its current footprint and will also include a condition that the building’s use must remain a school. Moreover, he said that whoever is awarded the tender will be obliged to give a certain number of scholarships to Maltese youngsters that “can’t afford a world-class education.”