Three weeks ago the budget for 2010 was read in Parliament by the Minister of Finance. It started being debated before it was announced. I see nothing wrong in all this. I think it was a positive development that a pre-budget document for consultation is being published, however this consultation should be better organised and open in such a way that measures being considered by the government are spelled out clearly. Moreover, the budget, once announced, cannot be amended and is practically voted for or against as presented. My question is, why debate the budget when practically nothing is changed?

I had the opportunity of following most of the speeches of the budget for every ministry as President of the Committee. Practically the speakers of the opposition made their criticism and the government reacted. Then when the time came, the votes were taken. For this reason, I feel that my question is very pertinent unless we change the way we debate the budget. Moreover, I also tried to follow what the newspapers reported from the debates. Very few reported the speeches and some even ignored most of the debates. With the exception of the budget speech and the speeches by both party leaders, most speeches were just reported lightly, if at all.

Most of the speeches were well prepared and I feel it is a pity that these seemed not to interest the newspapers, since they were not reported. While I admit that perhaps speeches do not necessarily interest most readers, however I believe that, for information’s sake, at least a brief summary of what was said would do justice to all.

Replies from ministers

Listening to certain ministers reply to the criticism put forward by the Opposition, I got the impression that this is a newly elected government. Of course this is not the case. At times I felt that we, or rather, the people are being taken for a ride since what was promised years ago has still not been implemented today. The perception given by some ministers is that they are not at fault for the lack of implementation of measures which were announced in the previous budget for the current year. In Malta, political responsibility is still a far cry from reality and no minister ever resigned or at least apologised because the announced targets were not met. No Minister ever resigned even in cases of corruption or lack of observation of the code of ethics. Current ministers and parliamentary secretaries criticised their predecessors in some cases. One can say that this is healthy criticism, but in these cases this was not the case since in most instances the tone implied that the previous politician left things in a bad shape. Likewise, ex-ministers chose to speak on their work and how they had to operate without any adequate funding when they were in charge.

Industry and foreign investment

The international recession hit our shores as well. We, as the Labour Party, always acknowledged this. However, the problems we are facing are not only due to the international recession but also to the Maltese crisis which was created by the current administration with certain decisions taken or the lack of them.

The writing was on the wall. Things got worse as soon as the consequences of the international crisis hit our shores. Our exports decreased and, as the Minister said, it is obvious that exports decrease in times of crisis. I could not agree more with his statement. As a matter of fact, exports have been decreasing for three years, long before the international crisis started. Employment in the manufacturing sector decreased by 2,000 in a couple of months’ time in a period in which unemployment in general is on the increase. May I point out that the manufacturing sector does not imply only the textile industry but also others such as pharmaceuticals.

With regard to foreign direct investment, the government lacks a coherent strategy. Since 2004, when Malta Enterprise was set up and took over the work performed by three different entities, continuous changes have occurred. These changes did not occur after an analysis of what was going on, but simply because there was a change of minister or a change in one or more of the top posts. And that is why a strategy to attract foreign investment is very much needed.

The Paola pharmacy

The Maltese deserve a better service since taxes are being paid for the provision of health services. The service from the Paola pharmacy leaves much to be desired. This is not because of the health workers but because the situation at this public pharmacy does not allow for a good service. I made parliamentary questions to know what the government is doing in this respect. The answers did not satisfy me much since what the Minister replied was, in brief, that he acknowledged the problem and said that the government is seeking an alternative place.

I suggested the government take back the Nationalist Party club just a couple of metres away from the Health Centre, since this building is government-owned. The Minister did not commit himself to use the PN club as a pharmacy so that the people get a better service. I bet that if it were a Labour Party club, he would have accepted my suggestion.

Carmelo Abela

Deputy Speaker and

Labour Main Spokesperson for Industry and Foreign Investment

Email: info@

carmeloabela.org