The economic belt is tightening. Rising prices across Europe have made pretty much everything more expensive. Some of these burdens (such as rising food prices) are being shouldered by the consumer, while others (such as subsidies to keep energy prices as they were) are being shouldered by the government.

The government itself has shouldered much of the financial burden over the past two years through its economic stimulus measures during the Covid-19 pandemic, chief amongst those being the wage supplement which saw the government contribute to the wages of some 100,000 private sector workers.

Those measures were key to keeping unemployment low and keeping the country’s economic wheel turning, and the government was hoping that the post-pandemic world would allow the country’s coffers to recover, but the war which Russia started with its invasion of Ukraine put paid to that hope.

Now, the government has accepted that costs need to be cut.

The estimated figure that needs to be cut from government spending is of around €200 million, according to reports. The much publicised €1.1 million budget cut for the University of Malta is a part of this process, with Finance Minister Clyde Caruana saying that there’s still €100 million left in spending to be cut.

Now, while it has to be accepted that budget cuts are needed – and in truth the writing has been on the wall even before the war made the immediate situation worse – an institution like the University of Malta should be the last place to undergo budget cuts.

The importance of such an institution cannot be overstated. This is the country’s primary tertiary education institution, responsible for the education of some 12,000 students who will make up the country’s future leaders.

This is also the hub for the country’s researchers. The country’s Research and Innovation budget was already among the lowest in Europe when compared to the country’s GDP, and it appears that this will not be changing in the near future, despite a Budget promise to the contrary.

One can argue that the cuts are a necessity brought about by the current situation. Yes, it’s necessary for costs to be cut, but there are plenty of other places where costs could be cut from instead of the country’s most prestigious educational institution.

For instance, the government can start by carrying out a full audit on the public sector. It is a fact that the public sector is bloated with hundreds of workers who are on the books to pick up their pay cheques while doing nothing to earn it.

A proper, independent audit would establish who exactly is needed and who isn’t, and those who aren’t needed on the public payroll should be cut loose. The private sector has been begging for workers across the board, so anybody cut loose should have no problems finding work.

Another example is the government’s agreement with Steward Health Care. The agreement between the government and Steward’s predecessors - Vitals Global Healthcare - was found to be vitiated, and is the subject of a magisterial inquiry as the Opposition pushes to have it rescinded.

Yet during last October’s Budget, the government paid €69 million to Steward to run the Gozo and Karin Grech hospitals – a 40% increase on the figure it paid in 2021 – despite the company not delivering on most of its contractual obligations.

This cost-cutting also comes after the government spent €70 million in cheque handouts, which coincidentally started to arrive in people’s letterboxes a week or so before the 2022 general election.

This is not to mention the countless direct orders and public appointments with ludicrous salaries to individuals who happen to be close to the government, which have continued with no sign of a slow-down.

These are just a few examples – or ideas, if you’d like – regarding where costs can be cut.

Over the past years, the government has, in a number of instances, used taxpayers funds to serve its own interests or the interests of those around it.

But now that the belt is tightening, it’s not this interestserving spending which has been cut, but the budget to some of our country’s most important educational institutions.

It’s simply not on: the government needs to start by cutting jobs for the boys and direct orders before cutting funding to institutions like the University of Malta. And we’re pretty sure that there’s plenty that can be cut.