This evening, the government presents its budget for the forthcoming year. Gone are the days when we need to be glued to our television sets to discover what is the official price of a can of tuna fish, or for that matter to hear the government declare with aplomb how much will be generously dished out to cover cost of living.
Much of what we will hear tonight is the result of a consultation process that the government now engages in from well before budget day. The involvement of the constituted bodies and of civil society in general has become a fact of life. The cost of living mechanism can be calculated by all concerned with mathematical precision well before the budget is read out.
Like any individual or family budget, it cannot provide a blueprint for the delivery of all desirables since at the end of the day money that can be forked out must equal money that is forked in plus whatever level of borrowing can be realistically sustained. Isn’t that the fundamental truth in our own lives? The same logic, even if on a far larger scale, prevails in the life of a nation.
Ironically, and I speak not without some experience (!), ministers more than ordinary citizens will tonight be curious to find out what level of expenditure has been approved for their respective ministries and public entities for which they are responsible. Year in, year out ministers hold talks with their colleague who is responsible for finance and present their shopping lists.
Each and every minister has cogent and strong arguments why more money is needed to cover the costs of new projects and initiatives apart from carrying on with present commitments and improving on deliverables. When Finance adds up all the shopping lists, the resulting deficit would well exceed what the nation can afford. Ministers are allowed to negotiate some reductions themselves in their own meetings, to avoid surprises – other reductions are settled at Cabinet level – it is the classic kind of argument: do we go for more roads or more parks, more health care and social security or more on education?
There is no magic balance and the fact that revenue streams are being hit by the recession does not exactly make life any easier. It is like the head of household having to cope with increasing demands from all the family members when his own revenue has suffered. On a collective level, many decisions are made, but not unusually the ultimate verdict is only to be found within the pages of the estimates that tonight will be laid on the Table of the House of Representatives together with the Budget speech, the economic survey and any other document that government would choose to refer to. Not surprisingly, ministers tonight will be browsing through their respective estimates even while the budget speech is being read out and in the coming days, permanent secretaries will rally their troops to see how to make do with that part of the kitty that is allotted to them to be administered as wisely as possible.
The budget will no doubt refer to important national projects, not least to give our capital city the dignity that it deserves. I shall myself keep pitching for an Opera House site that can be used for the performing arts throughout the whole year and not just in summer. Equally I expect money to be allocated for this project to make its long overdue kick off in the new year. Moreover, I look forward to learn about allocations for roads, the public transport reform, giving tourism more funds to market aggressively out of the present difficult patch, restoring bastions that form part of our cultural identity, furthering our commitments regarding education and culture, investing in a clean environment, giving Gozo its due, strengthening the health sector and the country’s social fabric. The list is endless.
But there is an expectation, indeed a need that surpasses all of the above. To be precise the expectation will not be met if any of the above is ignored. What I have in mind is jobs... and more jobs. Stable employment that offers families peace of mind.
Over 7,500 on the official jobless list is a need that must be addressed. Providing the necessary economic stimulus that will lead to the creation of new jobs is what each and every one on that list – not to mention others who need more stability and are not even part of the official statistic – yearns for, and it must be done with urgency.
That is the ultimate and only measuring stick by which to gauge tonight’s Budget and its effect over the coming months.
Dr Francis Zammit Dimech is a Nationalist MP