No secrecy on ElectroGas contract - Muscat

Prime Minister Joseph Muscat has insisted that there was no secrecy on the contract signed between the Maltese government and the ElectroGas consortium for the supply of gas to a new LNG plant at Delimara.

“It will be published and open for scrutiny in due time,” Muscat told the press during a visit to AppleCore Foods, a food and beverage importer employing 34 employees.

During yesterday’s parliamentary sitting, energy minister Konrad Mizzi was accused by the Opposition of avoiding questions on the details of the contract, but the Prime Minister has played down these claims, saying the government was analyzing whether there was any commercially-sensitive information in the contract.

Muscat focused his attention on job growth at the AppleCore visit, saying that more than 34 families depended on this company.

“It is our job as government to help create the right environment for companies such as this to grow.

“This government has seen economic growth flourishing with more jobs being created than during the previous administration. Malta’s economic growth increased by four times from 0.6% to 2.4%. We still believe that there is room for the economy to grow,” he said “But big progress is certainly being made.”

Parliamentary secretary for competitiveness José Herrera reiterated government’s stance that jobs were increasingly being created, but that there was not always a substantially qualified workforce.

“Government last week reached an agreement with MITA for students to be given internship employment with private companies. The scheme will allow for students to work 30-hour weeks for a 12-week period, with MITA subsidizing half the total wage,” Herrera said.

On his part, parliamentary secretary for EU funds Ian Borg said that the European Commission was currently in its final phases of discussions with the European Investment Bank on various initiatives which will see Malta supplied with €15 million in funds, with a large part being invested in SMEs.