Labour's propaganda machine has come up with another alluring slogan,  or according to the DOI  'theme,' for last Monday's budget speech. As part of the public relations exercise we saw Robert Abela, acting like a worried father, telling us that he understands our qualms and concerns and like the devoted 'pater' he will address our bothers and kept promising us a 'pajjiż ta' kwalita′.' Now we are expecting leaflets in our letter boxes trying to explain what's not there. And this will cost millions.

The concerns troubling the Maltese are well known to all. Survey after survey revealed them. The top ones are corruption, rule of law, the environment, traffic, cost of living, health, overpopulation, unhindered overbuilding and infrastructure. During his two-hour speech Clyde Caruana barely said anything about them. He did not offer solutions. Instead he dodged them all with some of the issues not even mentioned. He did not say how the government will be dealing with the corruption issue to make Malta a pajjiż ta' kwalita. He did not assure the people that corrupt politicians or government officials will face justice. He did not say anything about how to protect the environment and contain unbridled construction. What he offered was the usual rhetoric.

Everyone was expecting at least an attempt, however small, to shift from Joseph Muscat's botched economic plan which caused many of today's problems, to a new economic plan. No mention of any foreign investments except for the mention of a Hal-Far factory investing a meagre €15million. He kept giving statistics about the gaming sector, a niche created by the former Nationalist government.

He said that we still need to import some 20,000 foreign workers every year. How can we have a pajjiż ta' kwalita with the same economic plan?

Let's take health. The only measure cited was the cooperation with private hospitals to reduce the waiting list for operations, today running into thousands. No statement about the overcrowding and hours of waiting at the emergency and outpatients departments. He did not dwell on out of stock medicines. No mention of a new Gozo hospital and no mention of infrastructure investment at Mater Dei. Not one word on how the government will try to recoup the €400 million given to Vitals/Steward healthcare by the previous corrupt Labour administration.

The finance minister barely mentioned traffic, one of the main concerns of all.  The only proposal was underground parking close to ports. As if the traffic problem will be solved by people crossing from Sliema to Valletta with a boat instead of using their car. Not a word about incentives to discourage people not to use their personal car. No plan on how to ensure a more efficient public transport. Not a word on dedicated lanes for cyclists connecting villages.  Nothing to relieve the constant traffic jams throughout the day. How can this lead us to a paijjiż ta' kwalita?

How can we have a pajjiż ta' kwalita when the University and MCAST were not even mentioned during Clyde Caruana's speech. Not one line about the construction of new schools. Just a promise to refurbish schools every year as if this wasn't a recurrent task. The move forward is 'giving' higher wages to educators.

A pajjiż ta' kwalita is not a country where cowboy contractors act as if they own the place, where hunters do what they want and where the corrupt reign supreme. A pajjiż ta' kwalita means that police do not look at faces and take no action against corrupt politicians. A pajjiż ta' kwalita means that the Attorney General acts without favouritism and a police commissioner who doesn't declare that his duty is following the government's agenda. It means that the police commissioner should investigate and take action in major cases of corruption, money laundering and abuse of power of high officials of the Labour government and Labour Party.

And so, unfortunately, we have to wait for the publication and implementation of Silvio Schembri's latest brainchild Vision 2050. Hoping it will not be a repeat of the now notorious Blockchain Island.

Joe Azzopardi is a former official at the ministries of the environment, justice and home affairs and foreign affairs.