Malta was ranked sixth out of the 25 EU member states for attracting foreign investment, said Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi yesterday at the Nationalist Party club in Kalkara.
Yesterday was the first in a series of weekly discussions to be held in different localities in the run-up for the local council elections, scheduled for 11 March.
Pharmaceutical companies are investing heavily in Malta to the extent that there is a shortage of specialised students in the area, he said.
Dr Gonzi spoke about the importance of taking difficult decisions with a long-term vision in mind. Decisions cannot be taken to please public opinion, but in the national interest, he said.
The country is seeing the positive results of several difficult decisions taken by the Nationalist government, he added. For example, in the past six months, the number of unemployed people decreased by 700.
“These figures are remarkable, keeping in mind that many factories closed down and people lost their jobs,” said Dr Gonzi. In fact, more than half of the Denim workers have found alternative employment.
In 2004, the value of property sales was worth Lm403 million. This figure went up to Lm442 million in 2005. “This is not due to the increasing price of property but to the fact that more people are buying property,” he said. In 2004, there were 10,396 contracts for property sale and this increased to 10,610 last year.
Last year, the rate of economic growth was calculated to be one per cent. However, Dr Gonzi pointed out that it is expected to go up to 1.7 per cent in the second half of 2006.
Without giving any details, he also mentioned possible interest for substantial investment in Malta and said he was confident it will come through.
The Prime Minister also referred to the e805 million Malta received in funds from the EU budget. “These funds will be absorbed in the country’s economy and help us make a huge improvement.”
The government has launched a consultation process regarding programmes, projects and initiatives that could benefit from these funds, concluded Dr Gonzi.
Another speaker at the meeting was Parliamentary Secretary for Justice and Home Affairs Carmel Mifsud Bonnici, who said that the Maltese judicial system is of hindrance to foreign investment. He explained that foreign companies often look at the judicial set-up of a country before investing and check how many pending cases are in the courts.
Malta has a high number of pending cases in the courts and a new system was created to remedy the situation. A fast track system was introduced to speed up new cases and their outcome. The use of official letters and an arbitration centre were another two factors which improved the judicial process.
The success of the arbitration centre can be seen in figures, pointed out Dr Mifsud Bonnici. In 2004, it dealt successfully with 30 cases and the number increased to 350 in 2005. Two of these were international arbitrations and were solved in less than a fortnight.
Parliamentary Secretary for Agriculture and Fisheries Frans Agius said the government is doing its utmost to continuously improve the local produce.
He mentioned a number of schemes benefiting local councils in rural areas and encouraged those who are interested to apply.
In another activity in Vittoriosa on Saturday, Dr Gonzi pointed out that several government housing is being built in Birkirkara, Mtarfa, Cospicua, Kalkara, Valletta, Kirkop, Pembroke, Qawra and Zebbug.
Work is currently being carried out on more than 300 apartments and in the near future, work will start on another 122 buildings in Naxxar, Mgarr, Marsascala, Mellieha and Pembroke.
The first project of sheltered housing for the elderly was completed in Floriana and similar apartments will be built in Floriana and Valletta in the near future.