Prime Minister Robert Abela said Sunday that a reform will be carried out over three years which has been based on study and consultation. He said that this change will lead to stronger stipends and an incentive for students to choose fields in “which it makes sense to take a career”.

Speaking in Mellieha, Abela said that the foremost reason for this is because these fields provide a stable and quality job for the Maltese. He said that this is needed so that the economic transition the country is making to a quality-based economy is done quicker and stronger. “An economy of the Maltese, by the Maltese, for the Maltese,” he said.

He referred to a recent visit he made to a company working in the field of artificial intelligence, which he considers quality work. He said he wants to encourage more Maltese to enter into these careers and other fields “which are very necessary for society”.

The Labour Party leader said that this decision is being done in tandem with other strategic decisions which are being carried out in correlation to the electoral manifesto.

The Prime Minister spoke regarding the Government’s vision for Gozo in the coming ten years, to which he said that it is now the time to talk about the island’s future as they “will be building on the many good things that have been done”.

He said that the priorities are different, and that progress is needed but not which results in the loss of our identity. “We want a Gozo of villages,” he said. Abela added that incentives will be directed to reach that point and to protect the environment while strengthening what makes Gozo special. “We are a Government of many actions, we are a Government that fulfills what it promises, and Gozo is a living example of this,” he said. The Prime Minister added that Malta and Gozo are both moving at a strong pace in various areas.

“We want safer communities,” Abela said, recounting the success of the Community Police in localities such as Mellieha where he was speaking. He said that greater incentives for those who remain in the disciplined forces have been put into effect, such as improved pensions. “We reward loyalty to Malta, we reward bravery.” He said that the goal is to have larger and better trained disciplined forces in order to better take care of local communities. “We are continuing to show evidence that this is the worker's movement. And we, the Maltese workers, want it to keep moving forward."

Abela said that like security, the Labour Party also wants the country to maintain its pace of economic prosperity. He questioned who would be more capable of doing this than a Government led by the PL. He said that the PL took the country from economic stagnation to boasting one of the fastest growing economies in Europe, and he referred to a recent Fitch Ratings report which classed Malta as an A+ country. He said that at the forefront of the Government’s strategic approach was to not raise energy tariffs “as every other country has done,” and that this decision was done foremost because they “didn’t have the heart to throw that burden on the people”. He said that the result of this decision has been that businesses remained strong and that jobs continued to be created allowing for Malta to move forward.

The Prime Minister concluded by speaking about the upcoming budget. He said that the PL is entirely against adopting an austerity policy, “unlike the Opposition,” and that the Government will continue to be supportive and face the challenge of the cost of living. He said that this is a Government which understands the priorities of the people.