The Malta Labour Party yesterday presented a document with 34 proposals on sport and 36 proposals on culture, which Labour leader Alfred Sant said formed the party’s vision for the sectors for the coming five years.

Dr Sant said sport and culture were considered as activities that help the well-being of people, but the sectors were also linked to the development of the economy.

The MLP encouraged better participation in both sports and culture, and was suggesting that over five years the number of people older than 16 years of age who participated in sport should increase by 15 per cent. For this aim, an MLP government would allocate money to improve facilities in schools and, where possible, build new ones.

The Malta Council for Sport would be asked to carry out an exercise to find out what facilities existed in all localities and how these could be upgraded. A Labour government would see that more facilities were available for the community, and this included the development of more playing fields.

The Malta Environment and Planning Authority would be asked to submit a list of sites where sport facilities could be developed. The national minimum curriculum would be updated to reflect better the need for physical education in schools.

Sport and culture associations that decided to invest in capital projects would be exempted from VAT or would pay a reduced rate. The MLP would also remove or reduce VAT payable on admission tickets for cultural or sport activities.

Private companies which give more than Lm15,000 in sponsorships for sport and cultural activities would benefit from tax exemptions and would also be given extra points when they submitted tenders, Dr Sant said. Athletes would be exempted from paying the airport tax each time they travelled for sport purposes.

The MLP was also committed to build another athletics ground and to build a rugby ground and a car-racing track.

The MLP was also proposing the setting up of a National Council for Maltese Artists. Artists would be exempted from paying VAT when they organised exhibitions, while no VAT would be payable on art lessons.

The MLP was also proposing the opening of an Arts Museum in Gozo and the setting up of a Carnival Village, Dr Sant said.

This document is the last in a series of vision statements made by the MLP, and the whole set is expected to be published later on this year.