Addressing constituents in Marsaxlokk, Prime Minister Robert Abela assured Malta that work on removing the country from the infamous grey list is at an advanced stage and a visit by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) is expected in the coming weeks.
On the anniversary of the first Covid-19 case in Malta, Abela went back to the “tense and anxious times during my first weeks in office. We had to take hard decisions and practically close down the country, but the decisions were necessary, and our priority always was to safeguard the health of the Maltese population.”
Adding to the notion of new realities, Abela stated that the government is gearing up in order to shield from an increase of prices in certain areas due to the Russian invasion on Ukraine. “We are going to keep to our principles and safeguard all those effected from this conflict.”
FATF
Asked about the FATF grey listing, Abela stated that Malta is making very good progress in this regard. “We have made a lot of progress on the recommendations of the FATF and the next step to complete phase one is for the FATF board to visit Malta in the coming weeks and confirm our work.”
Abela then jabbed at the Opposition by stating that the problems flagged by the FATF were due to “years of neglect prior to 2013, where key institutions battling financial crime and money laundering were left in tatters.”
Apart from the FATF grey list, Malta had passed through the MoneyVal test after amending more than 68 recommendations which they had suggested. “When Malta passes from the FATF board, it will be labelled as a serious jurisdiction and investment will be coming to our country.”
“In the recent months certain bureaucracy practices have unfortunately been accentuated due to the FATF situation. That’s why we proposed various legislative changes to reduce this impact as it is our priority if given the confidence for the next 5 years.”
Environment
Asked on the environment and the Labour Party’s way forward, Abela said that “we have already shown our commitment to the environment by proposing the €700 million investment over 7 years initiative.”
Apart from this Abela also said that the government’s track record when it comes to the environment “speaks for itself” as he mentioned the scrapped Marsascala marina project and the retaking of land at Zonqor point.
Fishing
With regard to fishing, “it will remain one of the most important pillars of our country. Throughout the pandemic we had many a discussion on the possibility of shortage of food and the importance of our fishermen was crucial in those difficult times.”
Abela revealed that in the PL manifesto expected to be published at the end of the week, “the protection of traditional fishing boats, new incentives to facilitate fishermen’s work by them investing in better equipment will be at the priority.”
Another specific proposal Abela talked about regards itself with retirement incentives for fishermen who are looking to pass on the trade down to the younger generations.