Speaking during a wide-ranging interview on the Nationalist Party’s Radio 101, Dr Gonzi said that government had been thinking of publishing it by August but studies were currently being made to test the government’s proposals.
An announcement regarding the matter will be made in the coming week and when the White Paper is published, it will be open to nation-wide discussion.
He explained that the original deadline for the discussion about pensions reform in the Malta Council for Economic and Social Development (MCESD) had been extended to June at the request of the social partners.
However, since a solution had not been found by the June deadline, Dr Gonzi said the government was making use of all the proposals made by the different social partners in the MCESD to come up with its own proposal containing the parameters for pension reform.
He said the current system will be retained for those who are already receiving a pension, while the new system will be offered to people within parameters which have yet to be decided.
By the end of 2005, government is planning to pass the new pensions system through parliament which, Dr Gonzi said, will require “substantial” amendments to the current law.
He said the Opposition is absent from the pensions reform process because it does not believe that there is a problem with the pension system.
“We cannot take the advice of the Opposition because we would be irresponsible,” Dr Gonzi said.
The cost of pensions is rising because life expectancy is growing, as in most advanced countries, thus the pensions system needs to be reformed to remain sustainable, he said.
The purchase of Dar Malta in Brussels
Dr Gonzi was resolute in this respect. "We are not speaking simply about another embassy in another country. We are speaking about the place from where our country will be working around the clock to exchange European Union membership into benefits for Malta.
"We can only do this – and this has to be understood by newspaper columnists and journalists – if we have those people in Brussels working there around the clock," he said.
Dr Gonzi explained that one year ago a shortlist of 16-17 properties was made following a visit to Brussels by a government delegation.
He likened the choice of the Brussels property to that between a petrol car and a diesel car, with the latter costing more but eventually giving better value for money in terms of operating costs.
"We knew that this decision would be controversial. But the ministers in the Cabinet are not afraid and took the right decision for Malta," Dr Gonzi said.
"A message to all critics: if, in 15 months' time, they see that the value of the building increases and we get revenue from the renting of premises, will they have the guts to say that they were wrong when they criticised the Gonzi government? I think that time will prove us right," he said.
Public deficit
Dr Gonzi said the curbing of the public deficit is important because investors prefer to invest in a stable country where there is less possibility of new taxes being suddenly introduced because of an uncontrolled public deficit.
Government has made it a priority for the next three years. If the deficit is controlled, the resources of the country can then be diverted to areas of priority.
Dr Gonzi said in recent months he has met with the ministries and parliamentary secretaries and told them that the culture of waste-busting must permeate across the whole civil service as well as the Maltese people.
Performance bonuses for the top posts in the Civil Service will not be granted if the cost-cutting targets are not met, Dr Gonzi said. "We must learn to be accountable".
The same message has been passed to the chairmen and chief executive officers of the 47 government entities in a meeting held earlier this week.
Dr Gonzi said the figures for the first few months of this year are "encouraging" as there had been an increase in revenue and expenditure was controlled.
However, he said that more needed to be done to achieve the targets set out by the government for deficit reduction.
Dr Gonzi mentioned the reforms in government-controlled companies including the shipyards and, more recently, Air Malta and Gozo Channel.
"The time will come when the shipyard workers will be more proud of their workplace because they will not be taking subsidies and will even make a profit," he said.
However, Dr Gonzi said there were some additional expenses which will have to be accounted for shortly, such as the purchase of Dar Malta in Brussels.
In addition, when the restructuring plan for Air Malta was agreed upon, nobody was thinking that oil prices would have risen to such an extent, so one needs to be flexible, he said.
Speaking about the new collective agreement for the civil service, Dr Gonzi said it will be negotiated within the parameters of the cost-cutting exercise being undertaken by the government.
"If something was sustainable 20 years ago, it might not be sustainable today," Dr Gonzi said. "We must be ready to make sacrifices in order to reap the benifits in a few years' time". He said the Unions were being reasonable in this respect.
Unemployment
Dr Gonzi said the current unemployment rate of 7,600 is higher than it was in January, but he said that between July and September, the number of registered unemployed increases because of school leavers. In April, he said, the unemployment rate had come down.
"The economy had to absorb 1,900 redundancies and up to 600 workers taking early retirement schemes since last October, therefore I am not surprised that this year the unemployment rate is slightly higher than last year," he said.
Speaking about the National Plan for Employment launched yesterday week, Dr Gonzi invited everybody to contribute to this plan, even the Opposition. “We need to turn this plan into concrete actions. It sets ambitious targets for the creation of new jobs and the participation of women in the workplace,” he said.
Dr Gonzi said the government is working on a national development plan for 2005. The social pact, which is currently being discussed in the MCESD, is one of the pillars of this plan.
“In the interest of the country, he we need to have an agreement on the social pact in the MCESD,” Dr Gonzi appealed.
The environment and eco-tax
Dr Gonzi said that in the recent meeting with Ministers and Parliamentary Secretaries at Girgenti, he told them that one of the three pillars of the government is the environment, along with the economy and education.
He said the future of the country depends on how much we can take care of the environment. The transition from a manufacturing-based economy to a service-based economy based on tourism has made the environment even more important.
To be competitive in tourism, it is not enough to advertise, take care of our heritage and have good roads. Tourists must see a tidy country, said Dr Gonzi, and this costs “many millions” of liri.
He said the penalty for those who are caught littering will be greatly increased because this issue is affecting Malta's livelihood through tourism.
In the Girgenti meeting, the possibility of joining the competences for the environment under a single ministry was discussed, Dr Gonzi said.
The environment is currently split between MEPA (falling under the Ministry for Rural Affairs and the Environment), the Ministry for Resources and Infrastructure, the Ministry for Tourism as well as the Local Councils (falling under the Justice and Home Affairs Ministry.)
Speaking on the introduction of the eco-tax, he said that controversy had been expected.
Dr Gonzi said that as late as yesterday morning, there were meetings with importers of things that will be affected by the eco-tax, and the system is set to be introduced as from 1 September.
The eco-tax will be used to make people aware of the issues involved in rubbish disposal as well as to process the rubbish generated, he said.
Illegal immigrants
Dr Gonzi said illegal immigrants constituted a “national crisis” and a “huge burden” for Malta. He said a study in the possession of the Home Affairs Ministry shows that the impact of one illegal immigrant on Malta is equivalent to the impact of 3,000 immigrants on Sicily.
However, Dr Gonzi appealed for the value of solidarity, which the Maltese recently showed in the Kerygma Marathon, to be applied consistently.
“Unfortunately there is a human tragedy taking place in Africa, and we can see this from our television screens. They also have the right to aspire to a better life for their children, like we do.
“It is only in this way that one understands the risks they take when they cross in a battered boat with their wives and children,” Dr Gonzi said.
He explained there is a whole process set out by law which determines whether the illegal immigrants are given refugee status or not. Almost half the applications for refugee status have been accepted, Dr Gonzi said.
He welcomed the fact that the new president of the European Commission appointed a commissioner responsible for immigration, Rocco Buttiglione, who hails from Italy and knows Malta quite well.
Impending decisions
Dr Gonzi mentioned a series of decisions which government will have to take in the immediate future.
On public transport, he said there has not been enough progress in view of the substantial funding that government has pumped into the system.
"The time has come for a wholesale reform of the system", Dr Gonzi said.
He said there was also the need for the reduction of the bus fleet from the current figure of 508 because the existing bus fleet is not sustainable.
“Discussions are ongoing on this matter with the view to reaching an agreement, but if an agreement is not reached, decisions will have to be taken,” Dr Gonzi warned.
Likewise, he said the decision about the implementation of the regulations banning smoking in public places now has to be taken, “come what may”.
He described the nomination of Joe Borg as commissioner for fisheries as the largest endorsement of the respect that Malta enjoys in the EU as well as of Dr Borg's expertise.
Asked whether it had been a good decision to take the finance ministry portfolio as well, Dr Gonzi said: "Five months later, it is clearer than ever that this was the best decision I could take. It gives the Prime Minister a clear picture of the real situation, it gives him the opportunity to implement the government's programme and to ask for accountability from everybody.
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