The COVID-19 wage supplement will remain an important measure, Prime Minister Robert Abela said.

Abela was speaking during an interview with the PL media on Sunday morning. During the interview, he hinted that the government will announce a scheme to help businesses keep up with property rents in the coming days.

During the interview, it was mentioned that employment rates in Malta are still on the rise despite the pandemic and he said that this was attributed to the measures that the government has implemented.

"This shows that the aid we provided, through schemes like the wage supplement, really helped preserve employment and businesses themselves," Abela said.

He explained that this scheme cost the government €170 million till now and around 180,000 employees have benefitted from it. He added that the wage supplement will remain an important measure for the near future.

Abela also attributed this success to the recently announced 'Electricity Bill Refund Scheme for Businesses', a scheme which is part of the government's multi-million euro 'mini-budget'.

Another measure mentioned in this 'mini-budget' is the one-time cash subsidy on rent which Abela said will be announced and implemented in the coming days, through which every business will be able to benefit up to €150,000 (depending on the number of establishments it owns).

We don't just want to have the vaccine, but want everyone to have access to it

Abela was asked about the recent announcement by Health Minister Chris Fearne, that Malta will be getting 330,000 doses of a Covid-19 vaccination when it is developed.

The Prime Minister said that this is the result of a decision the Cabinet took on 16 June, to allocate €1 million for this cause and ensure immediate access to the vaccine. He said that "our target now is not only to have the vaccine, but for everyone to have the opportunity to get it."

He explained that this investment could only be made thanks of the country's economic stability.

He said that the government took on a specific strategy that balances health and economy so as to avoid extremes and he stressed that there are already signs of improvement.

"There were people who criticised our decisions, however I am convinced that the way we handled this pandemic makes us one of the best in the world. The decisions we took over the past weeks are a reflection of this. One has to only look at the increase in the number of swab tests and the increase in investment in human and material medical resources. This contrasts to other countries who reduced testing rates despite the rise in cases."

The Opposition has brought nothing but disruption

Abela was also asked whether he is worried that the PN decided to have a leadership race at such a delicate time, to which he said that it annoys rather than worries him.

"The opposition has brought about nothing but disruption at a time when the most important thing is unity. If it were the PN who was leading the country during the pandemic, where would we be?"

He said that when he became Prime Minister, he was looking forward to have an opposition that provides constructive criticism as he is always open for suggestions. However, he said that the opposition has been completely absent for most decisions due to having a leadership race in the middle of the pandemic.

"We are not interested in who the leader will be, these candidates have no vison for our country, our society, our economy, our civil rights. The thing I do not like the most in their speech is their lack of authenticity. Regardless of the outcome of this leadership race, they will be surrounded by the people who disrupted the party."