Opposition Leader Alfred Sant yesterday said that a Labour government is committed to transform Malta into a business outsourcing centre in IT – something that has not yet been achieved.

Dr Sant was speaking during a visit to local IT software company Megabyte where he was accompanied by a MLP delegation.

He promised that a Labour government will implement a number of measures that will help push Malta forward on the IT map and added that there are not enough trained graduates to meet with the present demand.

“IT will be pushed forward from a young age and e-inclusion schemes that are not gimmicks will be introduced to help reduce the digital divide,” said the opposition leader.

The e-inclusion schemes will train housewives, single parents, the elderly, unemployed and those with special needs while private training providers will be pushed forward to help Malta become an international centre of IT training, explained Dr Sant.

However, after the visit, the Investment, Industry and Information Technology Ministry issued a statement saying that the Labour Party’s proposal for e-inclusion schemes for various sectors already exist and are financed through strategic alliances.

Furthermore, it added, Labour’s plan to implement a Business Outsourcing Centre is simply a copied version taken from the government’s documents where it is called “Business Processes Outsourcing Centre.” However, the ministry said, the Labour Party is so incompetent that it did not even copy this correctly.

“The Labour Party announced this because they were tipped off that the government were going to announce that it attracted a large investment in IT,” its said.