Post-COVID strategy to be published in June

Government’s post-COVID strategy will be published in June, Minister Owen Bonnici has said.

Replying to parliamentary questions by Nationalist MP Jason Azzopardi and Labour MP Jean Claude Micallef, he said the recovery plan will be published before the second quarter of 2021.

“COVID-19 has changed the course of history, both positively and negatively, and so we have to look at ahead at the future,” Bonnici said.

He said the steering group behind the consultation document identified three questions for the road ahead after COVID-19.

The public consultation was launched in April, and will run through to May 31.

The three questions which the document looks to answer are: 1. How can people’s quality of life improve?, 2. How can the country sustain businesses? and 3. How will the country continue to remain resilient and competitive?

The document will address 12 thematic sectors which are health, social cohesion, societal challenges, sustainable planning and urban development, facilitating business investment, green investment, the integration of education, laborious and economic policy, innovation, digital infrastructure, good governance, safeguarding of natural and cultural heritage and disaster recovery preparedness.

He said the plan will be published before the second quarter of 2021.

“It will be a visionary document which best coordinates the work done by government,” he said.

Bonnici praised government’s work throughout the pandemic, stating it has never shied away from taking decisions.

“That is why we are in pole position for economic recovery in Europe,” he said. “That puts us in a very good position.”