Referring to statistics issued recently, Dr Mangion said that while the global economy increased by 2.5 per cent in 2003, the local economy weakened by 1.7 per cent.

He said the Nationalist government had projected a growth of 4.5 per cent for 2003.

Dr Mangion criticised the government for attributing the problems the country was facing to international events, pointing out that in 2002 the economy fell by 1.1 per cent, whereas in 2003 it fell by 1.7 per cent. He said the country’s economic situation throws serious doubts on the country’s future economic performance.

National debt, he said, was around Lm1.3 billion, 72 per cent of the gross national product. According to EU criteria, this should not surpass the 60 per cent mark of the GNP.

Moreover, the government had issued Lm315 million in guarantees for the amounts being borrowed.

This makes the total figure of debt 92 per cent of the GNP.

Dr Mangion continued, that according to a report issued by the Central Bank, the government borrowed Lm34 million between 27 February and 2 April this year. This means that the deficit for the first three months this year is calculated at Lm65 million, a 10 per cent increase over the figure during the same months last year.

On the budget deficit, Dr Mangion said that in 2003, the figure reached Lm175 million, which was around Lm100 million off the government’s target.

He said this figure is 9.7 per cent of the gross domestic product, “way off from the government’s target to get this down to three per cent,” Dr Mangion said.

Dr Mangion also heavily criticised the government over the 24 per cent increase in expenditure of its 64 entities.

On the subject of tourism, Dr Mangion said trends show that this year will be worse than 2003 while it seems that tourists are spending around Lm12 less when in Malta. Moreover, due to increased costs, hoteliers are spending more and collecting less because they are reducing their prices in order to attract more work.

Dr Mangion also spoke about education, and commented on the number of students leaving school without basic skills.

He said this leads to a skills shortage which, in turn, has an effect on the country’s competitivity.

Dr Mangion then mentioned statistics related to education. While early school leavers total to around 20 per cent in EU countries, in Malta this stands at 48 per cent. In addition, only 12 per cent continued their studies at a tertiary level while in the EU, the figure stands at 26 per cent.

Dr Mangion said it was important for the government to carry out a stock-taking exercise of the country’s education system. He said investors will find the country more attractive for their investment if the number of skilled workers increases.