2020 will be a year that will be long remembered. Whereas in the first two months we were striving forward, in March we faced an unexpected shock. Instead of reacting passively, the Maltese proudly rose to the challenge. Employers did not close shop. Workers supported their employers. Stakeholders came up with rapid and workable solutions.

The war chest accumulated in years past was utilised well. The wage supplement saved half of private sector jobs. The vouchers replaced the spending of thousands of tourists who could not visit. Firms were allowed to defer taxes while Government provided guarantees for hundreds of millions in subsidised loans.

For the last four months, while unemployment continued to rise inexorably in Europe, in Malta a thousand unemployed found work. The number of those on social assistance, which in past recessions had spiked, this time continued to fall. Instead of downgrades, our ratings were stable and international institutions agreed with our economic measures.

Rather than making us rest on our laurels, these results spur us to do even more. Previous assistance stopped the drop. Now we can make up for lost time and strive forward with our vision of a better Malta for all.

This is the underlying philosophy of the Budget. It is the budget of a proud nation, a nation that has withstood its greatest challenge and wants an improved future.

Faced by an international recession, though less challenging than today's, a Nationalist administration had gone back on its word to reduce income tax. We instead increased our tax refunds by a third. In 2009, a Nationalist administration cut public investment by half. We instead will do much more. A decade ago, austerity was seen as a badge of prudence. Today we know austerity is a badge of failure, a failure to believe in the families and businesses of this proud nation.

In the Budget we invested in improving livelihoods. Vouchers, higher children's allowance, increased in-work benefit and improved tax refunds mean that a family on the minimum wage will receive a €880 boost, the equivalent of more than an additional month's worth of wages. For pensioner couples on the minimum pension, the Budget provides a €770 boost, the equivalent of an additional month's worth of income. Those on average wages who are saving for a pension will see a €930 boost.

We reduced burdens for businesses, with an increase in the VAT-exempt threshold that will affect thousands of self-employed, and by modifying the wage supplement so that those most affected get the most support. At the same time, we reaffirmed not only our ongoing investment in the road infrastructure, but also our plan for the largest investment in industrial infrastructure in history.

During the pandemic, many had the time to stop and think about the future. In Government, while busy implementing solutions for immediate challenges, we also took care to develop a new vision to build a better future. A vision based on five principles, summarised in five words: Governance, Quality-Of-Life (QOL), Education, Infrastructure, Environment.

Our republic turns fifty in a few years. We have improved its institutions during recent years, but it is time to make more substantial changes, and raise our governance systems to levels even higher than those of our European partners.

We have doubled the size of the economy in seven years, and reached the EU's average GDP per capita. It is time to shift from GDP to QOL, from economic production to general well-being as the key policy target. Livability, equality and human development will now take centre stage.

To achieve this we need to transform completely our education system, from a system that tries to teach things to one that forms capabilities.

We also deserve an infrastructure that is in line with the prosperity of our nation, an infrastructure that acts as the springboard for more economic progress.

We have to match, and I dare say even surpass, the past boost of investment in productive capacities with an unprecedented amount of investment in our environment. Malta needs to spearhead the European Green Deal.

This is this Government's vision. Maltese proudly striving forward.

 

Dr Robert Abela is Malta's Prime Minister