Joseph Muscat: 'we need to emphasize the importance of investment'

At a political activity in Hamrun, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat made mention of tomorrow's budget and said that it would yet again be a positive one thanks to the investments that took place throughout the years of the labour administration. "A situation of autopilot does not exist in economy," he said, "so we need to keep inviting investments, generate more and more work," he said.

Speaking ahead of tomorrow's budget (the 7th budget under Muscat's administration), Muscat said that work would remain amongst the highest priorities but further attention will be afforded to the conditions of work. This, he said, was why thousands of workers who have been on minimum wage for a number of years will now be getting an automatic €3 increase per week to their wage.

He also declared that for the first time, the government came to a sectoral agreement with the police corps and that this will realise significant improvements to the police units. "There will be a time when Civil Protection workers and the Armed Forces will enjoy the same benefits. As we reached an agreement with the police corps, we will reach an agreement with these civil forces as well," Muscat said.

He said that 17,000 people who were at risk of poverty are no longer at risk today and that another priority would be to ensure that children who have a single breadwinning parent will avoid debilitating circumstances.

"This is the fourth consecutive budget," Muscat said, "that has increased pensions." He said that the country could afford these improvements to the ones on the lowest rung of the ladder because Malta was ranked first in the world for macroeconomic stability, a World Economic Forum classification. 

Muscat reminisced on the time in 2013 when he won his first election. He said that he was met with incredulity and cynicism when he promised he would lower taxes during the electoral campaign. Faced with a deficit, he argued, he could understand the reaction. "How do you finance a deficit of more than 3% that was in breach of EU regulation? You either incur debts or you increase taxis. We did neither and are today one of the few countries enjoying such a large surplus."

Muscat said that there was a time when the budget meant a source of anxiety to most people but it isn't so today. "To understand where we're going," he said, "we need to realise where we've come from." He reiterated the fact that it was thanks to continued investments and a large working force that a good budget was possible.

He unveiled that 78% of measures introduced in last year's budget have already been implemented. "With three months to go for the end of the year, this figure could rise even further."

The Prime Minister inaugurated a return of the use of glass and the previous procedures which came with it. In a bid to limit the use of plastic, glass bottles would return, and when the contents of glass containers are spent, these bottles or containers could be exchanged in stores and petrol stations for money.

Following the white paper that proposed several reforms to the governing of local councils, Muscat said that "local councils shouldn't operate as sovereign republics. If we share strategies and if localities work hand-in-hand, it would be easier to orchestrate a beneficent situation for everyone."

Lastly, upon commenting on his own competitiveness, Muscat said that a new national strategy on sport will also be taken up. He said that he had recently been in talks with sport federations and the Malta Olympic Committee. "Smaller countries than ourselves fare better in international competitions. What is the facility of sport giving back to people? The government will back a strategy with a winning mentality and with a strong strategy."

Again, he emphasised that this was finally possible because of a "strong economy and a can-do attitude."