Parliamentary secretary Edwin Vassallo yesterday said that Nationalist governments have always been in favour of liberalising the commercial sector and reducing bureaucracy.

Mr Vassallo was speaking during the parliamentary adjournment last night. He said that various amendments have been made to laws to this effect, in an effort to allow the commercial sector to grow and move forward.

He said that the best way to do this was to remove red tape and bureaucracy. “Bureaucracy has been reduced and we have seen increase in employment in the sector, which also gives the national commercial activity a push,” said Mr Vassallo, stressing the positive knock on effect.

He said that successive changes to laws have also made it easier for people to set up a business and enter the commercial arena, and stated that: “This creates competition, making things more efficient, a benefit that is ultimately passed on to the consumer.”

He said that things as they are now are far better than they used to be in the past. “You just have to look at our local market nowadays and see for yourself,” he said. However, he said that removing red tape did not mean that there were no more rules and regulations to abide by. “It does not mean that we operate in the law of the jungle,” he said.

He said that whatever changes are introduced, one can never make everyone happy. “Sometimes we introduce things and some people are happy with them, while others are not,” he said.

He added that it is the government’s responsibility to weigh up all factors before coming up with a just and equitable solution that is fair across the board. “We want to stimulate the business sector and we are doing that in our commitment to cut red tape,” said Mr Vassallo.