No Enemalta employees will be forced to work overseas as a result of the sale of a minority stake in the corporation to a Chinese state-owned company, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat insisted this evening.
Dr Muscat was being interviewed by TVM journalist Norma Saliba at a political activity in Luqa, and energy proved to be a key topic.
The Prime Minister said that the agreement to sell a 33% stake in Enemalta to Shanghai Electric was on track, and should be concluded within weeks, before emphasising that this agreement meant halving the corporation’s €800 million debt “at the stroke of a pen.” He insisted that the previous government had another plan to reduce the corporation’s debt: increasing electricity rates by 30%.
Dr Muscat noted that through the agreement, Maltese workers would have the opportunity to service the Chinese company’s power plants in Europe and the Mediterranean, but he clarified that such overseas work would not be compulsory.
“If we do not find enough Enemalta employees willing to service power stations overseas, we will be employing more people and creating more jobs,” he pledged.
The Prime Minister also declared that he was positive that there would be other developments concerning China, stating that the country clearly sought to cooperate with Malta, and dismissed scepticism on such close ties. He noted that other countries were clamouring to attract Chinese investment, whereas Malta has already attracted it.
Dr Muscat also said that the government was seeking to persuade other countries to involve themselves in Maltese projects, specifically mentioning the US and Gulf countries as examples.
He noted that Europe and Libya remained Malta’s natural markets, but insisted that the country could not simply depend on them and had to widen its horizons.
Job creation was another issue brought up in the interview, and the Prime Minister insisted that an average of nine jobs have been created for every additional person registering for unemployment over the past year – while the previous government only created four.
National Statistics Office figures published today showed that 7,644 people were registering for work in March, compared to 7,350 in March 2013.
Dr Muscat also dismissed the PN’s scepticism on the government’s fiscal policy, pointing out how the party had previously insisted that the government would not lower utility bills, and that it would not manage to keep the deficit below 3% of GDP last year.
“Now they are saying that we will not manage this year... when we do so next December we will see what they will say to keep us entertained,” Dr Muscat maintained.
As the topic turned to Labour’s prospects for next month’s European Parliament election, Dr Muscat insisted once more that his party was the underdog as it strove to be the first party in government to obtain a majority of votes in the European elections.
But when asked what would happen if Labour failed to meet its target, he insisted that he was confident that it would win, before stating that whatever the outcome would be, the public would be sending a signal to both the government and the opposition.
He noted that PN leader Simon Busuttil was fond of pointing out that Dr Muscat would remain Prime Minister after the election, “perhaps to reassure those who do not trust him to be Prime Minister.”
“After 24 May, Dr Busuttil will also remain Leader of the Opposition – or so I hope,” he added.