PN proposes Child Trust Fund of €5,000 per newborn

Nationalist Party leader Alex Borg has promised a €5,000 Child Trust Fund for every newborn child if the PN wins the next general election.

"Through measures like the Child Trust Fund, a Nationalist government will give couples and families a foundation on which to build a better future for their children," Borg said during an interview with Net News in Zurrieq on Sunday.

The fund is the centrepiece of the PN's family policy platform, which also includes a proposal for a four-day working week. Borg said the pressures facing young couples today were making it increasingly difficult to achieve a decent quality of life, and that solid measures, not empty words, were needed to address this.

On the economy, Borg repeated his party's pledge to cut VAT for restaurants and catering businesses from 18% to 7%, saying this would be done within the first 100 days of a Nationalist government. He hit out at Finance Minister Clyde Caruana, accusing him of implying that restaurant owners were dishonest rather than welcoming the proposal. Around 3,000 families earn their livelihood from the sector, Borg said.

On broader economic growth, Borg said what had been achieved in recent years must be built upon, but that the PN had always had greater ambitions for young people. He promised that from the government, he would turn what he called a beautiful vision into reality, one that would open doors for entire generations.

Asked about his recent trip to Brussels, Borg said he had pushed for a stronger EU commitment to Mediterranean security and held detailed talks with the European Commissioner for Transport about securing EU funding for a mass public transport project in Malta.

On transparency, Borg accused Prime Minister Robert Abela of removing himself, his ministers and their partners from public scrutiny, while ordinary workers are expected to declare every cent they earn. A Nationalist government, he said, would immediately reverse that decision.

Borg also said Labour's record in Gozo amounted to little more than broken promises, and dismissed the government's recent flurry of announcements on the environment, healthcare and traffic as a panic response after 13 years in office.

Asked whether the PN was ready for an election, Borg was direct: "What the Nationalist Party is promising, it is ready to deliver."