Parliament yesterday discussed and unanimously voted in favour of the amendments to the Malta Enterprise Corporation Bill.

Investment, Industry and IT Minister Austin Gatt said "the bill will include the setting up of the Malta Enterprise Corporation, and will incorporate anything that falls under investment incentives and the like."

The Bill lays out cooperation between the government and the private sector to promote enterprise. "It has been this government's policy to invest in this, as the private sector is the backbone of enterprise on the islands. When we were elected to government, 44.6% of the employed worked in the public sector – now it has decreased by about half. We need to continue on this path so as to enhance the private sector to motivate the economy."

The aims of the work undertaken by Malta Enterprise, ie, establishing its economic aims and enumerating a non-exhaustive list of things which may be done to enhance and improve the sector are also highlighted in the Bill. It also explains how the prime minister will be issuing legal notices vis-à-vis the sector.

Chris Agius, MLP's main spokesman for industry and public investment, said he was concerned about the barriers bureaucracy place upon investment. Minister Gatt agreed wholeheartedly, however, he said that due to the need for transparency within the public sector, this was something that could not be done without.

Mr Agius also spoke about development of human resources by the private sector through re-training. While agreeing to this point, Dr Gatt said that “it takes three to tango – the government’s will to invest; the private sector’s will to promote corporate social responsibility; and the worker’s will to undertake training".

Dr Gatt said Gozo must offer something different than the main isle for it to be attractive to investors.

Following another question by Mr Agius, Minister Gatt said this law had been extended to areas in which Malta Enterprise did not feature previously. "Incentives given to tourism may be issued under the Malta Enterprise Act, yet shall be the responsibility of the Malta Tourism Authority. Thus, investors only have to look at one set of laws and not all the laws of Malta, to achieve what they want."

Other things mentioned were: the oath of secrecy that Malta Enterprise employees must undertake, the powers of the minister, and the concept of a certificate given when incentives are awarded, which would constitute a contract between the investor and the government.

The Bill as amended in committee stage was approved.

Parliament shall reconvene tomorrow.