Dr Gonzi was speaking to the assembled media in the monthly meeting with the press he has been holding ever since he became Prime Minister. While last month the meeting was held in the second week, due to the John Dalli resignation, this time it was moved from the first Friday of the month to Saturday.

It was a bouncy Dr Gonzi who addressed the media, with a presentation of facts and figures which show improvements in the economy. These prove, that the government’s policies are the right ones and that the thrust of reforms which are being undertaken must continue he said.

The prime minister listed:

• Investment: The first quarter saw Foreign Direct Investment increase by Lm19 million over last year’s first quarter.

• New enterprises: January to June this year has seen a 23 per cent increase in new enterprises and a 21.5 per cent increase in new company registrations.

• Manufacturing: There has been a 3.2 per cent increase in manufacturing turnover and a 65 per cent increase in investment in manufacture.

• Services: An 8.5 per cent increase in car sales was registered in March this year, plus a 16.2 per cent increase in the wholesale sector and a 4.8 per cent increase in the retail sector.

• Bank deposits have increased by 9.5 per cent over last year.

• The number of Maltese who went abroad this year has increased by 27.4 per cent for those who flew out of Malta and by 25 per cent as regards Maltese on cruises.

• The trade gap has been narrowed since imports decreased by 1.5 per cent and exports expanded by 3.5 per cent.

• The number of unemployed people has decreased from February to June, and unofficial figures show a continuing decreasing trend for July but there will be seasonal increases due to the new school leavers in the August and September figures.

• Inflation has increased by 0.78 per cent over last year’s figures.

• There has been a 2.3 per cent increase in the average income of the Maltese.

• There has also been a 3.4 per cent increase in money in circulation.

• As for government finances, government recurrent revenue has increased by 5.3 per cent, through the VAT increase, while government has been very strict in controlling its recurrent and capital expenditure. This has enabled the structural deficit in the country to be decresas3ed by 14.3 per cent in the first half of the year.

Worries

Dr Gonzi told the press conference that his main worry regards the price of oil. There is nothing Malta can do about this, he said, and all of Malta’s plans for growth can be affected with a continuing rise in the price of oil.

Other worries concern the job situation in Malta and the public deficit situation.

Tourism has not been as god as was hoped, he said, insisting that there has been huge investment in tourism over the past years. Government too has been heavily investing in the sector, since the Lm50 million that have been spent over the past seven years to renovate and upgrade Malta’s historic attractions can also be considered as investment in tourism. Such investment will continue.

National Development Plan

Dr Gonzi announced the drawing up of a National Development Plan which will draw on a number of other plans which are being drawn up in these weeks.

One such plan is the National Plan for Employment which will be announced in the coming days. This will address job creation and suggest specific initiatives to broaden the participation in the job market.

Another component of the National Development Plan is the Convergence Plan which government has submitted to the EU.

Yet another plan is the Report on Social Inclusiveness which is an analysis of welfare. This report has shown that the number of persons at the risk of poverty has been cut by one half, thus proving that the money government spends on welfare is reaching the right persons.

Warning on bus strike

Stating he is optimistic as regards the state of the economy, Dr Gonzi warned bus drivers in view of the widespread concern there seems to be a bus strike in the offing.

He warned that government will not authorise a fare increase unless there is agreement on the reforms that government wants to bring in.

Over the past years government has invested a lot of money to bring in the new buses but it now wants to create a number of bus routes which serve the population and which follow the shifts in population patterns.

Government also wants the maximum use of the new buses and a cut in the number of buses on the road.

MCESD

Government is closely following what is being discussed within the Malta Council for Economic and Social Development and a parliamentary secretary is now attending every MCESD meting.

Government hopes that by the time of the Budget Speech there will be agreement reached among the social partners regarding the social pact.

Alternative energy

Replying to questions Dr Gonzi said that the increasing use of alternative sources of energy was very much discussed at last Thursday’s special Cabinet meting at Girgenti.

Some of the alternative energy sources, he said, are not suitable for Malta due to its smallness.

Somewhat contradictorily, he then said the recent increase in electricity consumption was a positive indicator, signifying the greater use of air conditioners and thus the better standard of living of the Maltese.

The surge in electricity consumption, he said, has outpaced the five year plan for energy production. This means that important decisions must be taken as regards future investment in energy. This may go in the direction of clean energy but it may also go in the direction of waste incineration, he said.

Mater Dei

Asked about the new hospital, Dr Gonzi denied that work on the new hospital has stopped.

The construction work is almost completed, he said, but the coming weeks will see the decision regarding the mechanical and engineering contract which will tie in with the medical equipment cont5ract and also the issuing of the IT contract.

He repeated that the government representatives have been meting Skanska as regards the Lm87 million that the construction of the hospital was planed to cost.

Government has not paid any more than Lm87 million, he said, but there are a number of bills outstanding for cost overruns and government wants to see how each cost overrun was reached. Unless there is a clear proof of government responsibility for each cost overrun, government will not pay, he warned.

Negotiations will soon open with the unions as regards the work practices which will be put in motion in the new hospital.

He also hinted that some changes are being made in the medical equipment ordered for the new hospital to take into account technological innovations which have recently come on the market.

He also pointed out that one reason why the Convergence Plan shows a decrease in capital expenditure over the coming years was due to the fact that after this year’s Lm25 million capital expenditure for the hospital, and next year’s equal capital expenditure, there will not be any more need for such capital expenditure after that.

Brussels embassy

Predictably, Dr Gonzi also had to field questions regarding the new Brussels embassy which will cost some Lm9 million.

Dr Gonzi pointed out that the Brussels embassy is not any other embassy: it is the place where Malta’s representatives in the EU headquarters follow all the developments which will impinge on Malta within the EU’s institutions.

He once again outlined the way the decision was reached and how the original 16 properties were shortlisted to three and then the final choice of the building.

He also defended the choice to go for outright purchase rather than leasing the building as it was found out that leasing the building for 25 years would mean paying the same amount of money now being spent on its purchase without having anything in return.

The media’s duty

Dr Gonzi blamed the media for not allowing the people to see what government is doing in favour of the country. He however promised a better access to the media on the part of government and also on the part of the Speical Representative in Brussels,. Richard Cachia Caruana.

One area where the media has not being informing the public about the true state of facts, Dr Gonzi added, regarded the government debr.

Government debt is made up of successive deficits which are not picked up, he said. This is also one reason why government is urging all capital projects to be concluded as son as they can and as near to the original figure as possible. This holds not just for the new hospital, but also for the Mgarr and Cirkewwa quays.

Neglect in the country

Dr Gonzi promised more action to increase the productivity of government employees.

He has asked for a study on the overtime that is being done while the rest of government employees enjoy their summer half days.

The number of people employed by the government will be reduced by natural wastage, unless there is a clear reason to employ a replacement.

Government is not happy with the take up by private industry of the people hived off from the dockyards. This idea, he said, did not work.

Questioned about the ‘air of neglect’ around the island, Dr Gonzi preferred to speak about the improved roundabouts and the ‘huge changes’ at such places as Mellieha and Qormi.

People’s expectations are high and get higher, he said.

He however admitted the country has a problem as regards cleanliness.

The Girgenti meting ahs agreed to pool all the government employees engaged in tackling dirt and neglect into one ministry to ensure a better coordination.

He also urged the public to keep Malta clean.

Recycable bottles

Questioned by this paper on last week’s police raid on drinks importers and whether this sent the wrong signal that government is ‘strong with the weak and weak with the strong’ Dr Gonzi denied any such perception.

The law must be enforced, he said and the government action shows that government is serious and that it urges the recycling of glass bottles.

He was asked why was it that action was taken against those who import one million bottles a year and not against those who import 22 million bottles a year.

The legal notice, he said, speaks of soft drinks bottles, not of wine or beer bottles. Energy drinks, he added, form part of the soft drinks bottles regime for the purpose of the legal notice and they had been in breach of the law fore a number of years, so much so that they asked for an exemption of the legal notice.

(Government sources told this paper later that government’s ultimate aim is to get every importer of glass bottles to install a system of returnable bottles. This is one reason why the eco-contribution was set up, the sources said, expressing the opinion that one cent per bottle is still to low and saying this may be increased to 2c or even more by the end of the year, to make it economically unviable for the importers of glass bottles to allow them to be thrown around instead of caring for their collection and reuse.)

Privatisation

Dr Gonzi said the privatisation of the Freeport is imminent and it is only awaiting the collective agreement signing.

There is still a way to go for the Maltacom privatisation.

As to the privatisation of Sea Malta,. Government is examining the expressions of interest which have been submitted. It is not acceptable for government to continue subsiding Sea Malta and while he agrees there should be an agreement on a public service contract, this cannot be done at any cost.

Port work reform

Dr Gonzi said that if the country does not want to face increased taxes, one way would be for agreement to be reached on the reform of the port system. This reform will provide more space for industry and there will thus be less need for more taxes.

Waste busting

Finally Dr Gonzi said a ‘waste busting unit’ is being set up at Castille with orders to cut waste not just in govermnment ministries but also in government agencies and corporations.