The budget estimates for the Investments, Industry and IT Ministry were yesterday approved with 30 votes in favour and 23 against after a relatively good natured debate, the government mostly attacking the MLP’s plans for the future and the MLP saying that the public could not keep up with the bills that are being pressed onto them.

Opposition MP Joe Mizzi kicked off the debate and said that the government made a mistake by removing hedging agreements. He said that even if one wanted to remove the hedging agreements, the government should have had a backup plan. Oil problems did not start yesterday; they have been a problem for quite some time.

The government tries to distract the people by embarking on projects, but “we wonder whether they will ever result in job creation”. Mr Mizzi said that the PN government always made promises it could not keep. “Before the last election, they had said they would give us a gas pipeline. Where is it? Now they are saying that they want an underwater electricity cable to link us to the European energy grid. It would cost more than our EU budget allocation. It’s simple, just don’t believe them,” said Mr Mizzi.

The general public cannot afford to keep up with the bills that are being pressed onto them, said Mr Mizzi. He also said that the government was slipping in a lot of hidden taxes so as to reduce the surcharge on water and electricity prior to the budget.

The people want jobs and they want serious plans for the future based on the realities of today, not to simply benefit those who are close to the government, concluded Mr Mizzi.

Next to speak was opposition MP Chris Agius, using the catch phrase to describe the latest budget as being “too little too late”.

He referred to former Finance Minister John Dalli’s recommendation for an early election in 1996 due to the dire situation that the country’s finances were in. He said that the MLP had found a horrendous situation in regard to national debt and budget deficit. “There are certain sectors of industry that are in decline and they can be boosted by the government with just a little bit of encouragement,” he said. He said that a new Labour government would set up a task force, working with members of industry to boost the overall performance in the country – aiming to create some 2,000 new jobs. He also said that Malta must keep up to date with changing realities so as to remain competitive.

He also mentioned the closure of several factories, adding that while a good number of those who were laid off managed to find other jobs, there was still a need to address the fact that several others were still looking for work and had no real skills. “We need better training programmes,” he said.

He also spoke about the film shooting industry and asked how come Malta had got through three film commissioners in just a few years.

He also spoke about remote gaming and said he was very pleased to hear that William Hill, one of the largest bookmakers in the world was relocating to Malta, but added that the country needed people who are trained for the job.

Main opposition spokesman Leo Brincat also spoke and said that with all the fanfare and alleged love of IT, this was one of the worst budgets ever for IT and was treated as a “low key affair”. He also said that there was more mention of SmartCity by Opposition Leader Alfred Sant than there was by Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi.

Mr Brincat said that he was full of praise for government successes, but said that bearing that in mind, the opposition party should criticise when it was due. He also pointed out that Malta’s internet access was very poor among young people – saying that while the average of the EU was something like 75 per cent who get to use it at least once a week, only 40 per cent of youths could say the same in Malta.

Mr Brincat also spoke about tendering processes and said that these needed to be more transparent. He also said that broadband internet bandwidth prices needed to go down further and added that he knew IT Minister Austin Gatt had been trying to push the idea to internet service providers. He also spoke about the strategic alliances entered into by the government and said that the country has yet to see concrete results, asking what happened to the supposed Lm20 million investment by Microsoft. He also said the country needed an E-Tourism project.

Opposition spokesman Joe Cuschieri spoke about Air Malta, adding that working conditions have been on the decline for the past four years, with no mention of the situation being made in the last budget speech. He also spoke about the brain drain factor, adding that many pilots were leaving the country to get better jobs elsewhere.

PN MP John Dalli was the first to speak from the government benches, saying that the MLP in opposition needed to be more serious. “The MLP has not updated itself and is still stuck in the past,” he said.

He also said that in his opinion, the country needed to change its mentality. “We need to cut direct taxation, but on the other hand, those who want to use services should have to pay for them. We cannot have everything free for ever,” said Mr Dalli.

He said that he wanted an answer from the Opposition Leader. “If you are going to cut the surcharge by half, how are you going to recoup that money? Are you going to introduce new taxes?”

Mr Dalli also likened investment into the economy to a farmer’s field. “You cannot expect to plant a fruit tree and pick its fruit that same day,” he said.

Mr Dalli also said that there needed to be a culture change. “We cannot remain with this attitude that taxation is bad. Everywhere in the world people need to pay their taxes on income. How can we have a situation in this country where the opposition foments resentment against paying taxes,” he said.

The former finance minister also responded to comments about a drop in manufacturing. “The reality is what it is. We must speak about man hours at the highest possible added value price,” he said.

PN MP Michael Axiaq based his speech on the effects on the increase in prices of fuel oil – tying it in to the polluter pays principle. He also said that the government was absorbing a large portion of the energy surcharge. Mr Axiaq also said that the MLP was dysfunctional, always going back on its word – promising the earth and delivering nothing. He also spoke about double glazed windows and doors, saying that the government should try and offer incentives to consumers to install them so as to save on energy losses.

Investment Minister Austin Gatt said that a former MLP leader used to measure the performance of the country according to the amount of people in employment. “Well, considering we have record levels of employment and the least number of people out of a job, we seem to be doing pretty well,” he said. He also said that Malta had set an all time record of Direct Foreign Investment, adding that the UN had called Malta a “front runner” in the drive to attract FDI, placing our country in sixth place in the world.

He also asked how the MLP could continue to deny the realities of the world food and cereal crisis. “Yes, there still are problems and we have to find solutions to them,” he said. “We are not going to solve these problems with the opposition’s false plans that are solely intentioned to win votes before the next election,” he said.

Dr Gatt also spoke about privatisation and said that it was the government’s policy to get out of the commercial arena. “It is obvious to see. Any company the government owned was simply not successful,” he said. Dr Gatt said that the government wanted to hand over the reins to those who knew what they were doing, while at the same time ensuring a level playing field. He gave a long list of successes related to the privatisation of the Malta Freeport, Fort Chambray, Maltacom and many others. “And no workers lost their jobs. It results in bigger income, better profits and more services for the people of Malta,” he said.

Dr Gatt said that the government had a conscience. “One of the few state owned companies left is Gozo Channel and look at the incentives we have given to people to visit Gozo in the winter and late hours. It is because the government has a conscience. Look, we have just made crossings for free for senior citizens,” said Dr Gatt.

Dr Gatt also spoke about the shipyards saying that next year will be the last that they will be allowed to receive subsidies. “The truth is that we did well in the preceding three years, but last year was not good at all. The only exception is the super yacht sector,” said Dr Gatt.

He also said that there was a lot more that needed to be done to get Air Malta back on its feet, adding that there needed to be new strategies devised to find new routes, better fares and better operations within the said airline. He said: “No company is sustainable in the long run if it keeps registering a loss.”

Speaking about the Water Services Corporation, Dr Gatt said that there had been very good results last year in terms of technical losses, water quality and cost cutting. He also spoke about Enemalta and said that the surcharge was subsidised, excess workers were shed and that bills are now paid on time. “The difference between the PN and the MLP is that the government put energy and water prices up when it was needed, not like the opposition who introduced it for no good reason,” he said. Dr Gatt said that consumers were paying a 50 per cent surcharge whereas the full amount should be 86 per cent. “The one major point I want to make is that energy prices today, with the huge increase in oil, are still cheaper than they were during Dr Sant’s 1996-1998 administration,” he said.

He also mentioned the SmartCity investment, saying that the EC had received a complaint alleging an element of state aid. He said that when he investigated the claim, it turned out that it was made by three local ISPs, one of which hosts all of the MLP’s websites as well as those of the GWU owned L-Orizzont.

Speaking about investment and job creation, Dr Gatt said: “The list is endless, Lufthansa Teknik, various electronics companies and there are also the substantial numbers employed in the pharmaceutical sector.”

He said that the Maltese people were very capable and that all they needed was a good solid pair of hands, which can be found in the Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi.