Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said in an activity in St Paul’s Bay that because the economy was doing well, the government was taking initiatives to help families. Referring to his visit to Dubai, where he launched the SmartCity Malta master plan, he said the government had shown it was able to attract foreign investors to Malta.

SmartCity represented an investment of 300 million dollars which would create 5,600 jobs and Malta’s EU membership and joining the eurozone were fundamental reasons which convinced the Dubai investors to opt for Malta.

Malta was, with India, one of the two countries which had attracted the project which would transform Ricasoli into a town of information technology and other opportunities.

Benefiting from it would be different sectors of the people, both those who had an advanced level of education, and those who had chosen trades.

The prime minister said all that Alfred Sant would say is that he had a plan, and it was the same plan which made him remove VAT to introduce CET at 29 per cent, froze the EU membership application, removed student stipends, brought in 33 new taxes, and raised water and electricity bills when oil, which today cost 80 dollars a barrel, was selling at 13 dollars a barrel.