Looking back at the landmarks achieved during the government’s last legislature, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi yesterday forecast still greater successes in store for Malta provided the country is under the right stewardship.
Dr Gonzi closed off the second day of campaigning in the lead-up to the general election on 8 March with a discussion meeting in Santa Venera yesterday evening.
Participating in the discussion – hosted by Pierre Portelli for the Bil-Fatti television programme – were economists John C. Grech and Gordon Cordina, UHM secretary-general Gejtu Vella and Confederation of Maltese Trade Union president William Portelli.
“Looking back at almost five years since this last legislature began, it is of great satisfaction to note how Malta has achieved successes such as joining the European Union and the eurozone, and being awarded e850 in EU funding,” Dr Gonzi observed.
“The country is unquestionably better off today than it was five years ago.
“These achievements, however, have been won by the Maltese people and not by myself or the government.”
But with such successes behind it, Dr Gonzi said, Malta is still facing “trouble” on the horizon.
Of particular concern were the current record prices of oil and cereals, while turmoil in the international financial markets could also be expected to present their own repercussions for Malta.
As such, the economy needs to be stimulated, Dr Gonzi explained, referring to the economic stimulus package – including income tax breaks and incentives for the self-employed, small businesses and working mothers – presented earlier in the day.
The package, according to Dr Gonzi, was aimed at rewarding people for working more.
Among the measures, which are to be introduced into the Nationalist Party’s electoral manifesto are an upward revision of the 15 and 25 per cent income tax bands, a reduction in the maximum 35 per cent income tax rate to 25 per cent for those earning up to e60,000 (Lm25,758) per year, giving working mothers a one-year income tax amnesty and a retention of the overtime system in its current format.
The crowd assembled greeted the proposals with hearty applause.
The Malta Labour Party’s mention of re-opening Malta’s accession agreement with the EU, Dr Gonzi added, was “a big mistake” in that it merely created uncertainty where there was none in the first place.
It was a particularly dangerous message for foreign direct investors, who, Dr Gonzi said, knew exactly where they stood in Malta and who sought a stable business environment.
Referring to a comment made by Dr Grech to the effect that a number of industries – such as tourism, financial services, the medical profession and IT – were encountering problems in finding skilled workers, Dr Gonzi stressed the government’s educational policies were effective, forward-looking and bearing fruit.
Dr Gonzi described Labour’s proposals for educational reform, such as that envisaging the creation of a “reception class” in the primary education system, as a “froga (mess) of the first order”.