Minister for the Economy, Investment and Small Business in Malta Chris Cardona hit out on Leader of the Opposition Simon Busuttil just minute before the latter is set to deliver his budget speech. "Dr Simon Busuttil has been criticising the Labour Party since before the elections, and I am certain that it is with this same negativity that he will deliver his speech tonight. However, his predictions have been contradicted by national statistics, and he is no longer credible," he said.
Mr Cardona said that Dr Busuttil had failed to anticipate the largest indicator of economy that is job creation noting that the statistics published earlier today have stated a decrease in unemployment rate. He said that over the past 18 months, over 6,000 jobs have been created in the private sector, and an increase of employment rates has been registered in the retail sector. Recent Eurostat report states that Malta has registered the highest increase in retail output across the Eurozone. "In addition, the commission's economic forecast anticipated that Malta's economy will continue to develop within the Euro Zone," he said.
He added that within 18 months, the government has approved a number of projects that by far exceed those undergone under a Nationalist Administration. 20,000 m2 of land have been allocated for industrial plots, while an additional 100,000m2 have been allocated for new factories. He continued that 38 million have been provided to assist SMEs to develop further.
Mr Cardona continued that the COLA reflects a low rate of inflation, noting that it is one third of that registered during Nationalist administration (from 2.3% to 0.8%).
The Minister hit out on the Leader of the Opposition for strongly criticising the Individual's Investors Programme, which has now proved successful.
Making reference to last week's budget speech, Mr Cardona reminded that the Labour Party has continued to be proactive in assisting businesses and families alike, noting the decrease in income tax and utility tarrifs, tax credits for registration of cars and first time buyers.
"We need to be proactive and help out SMEs develop further and ensure a level playing field between local enterprises," he concluded.