Malta needs a clear change in economic direction, with a model that no longer measures success solely through growth figures, but by how productive businesses are, whether wages are keeping pace with the cost of living and whether families are enjoying a better quality of life, Nationalist Party leader Alex Borg said Saturday.
Interviewed on the NET FM programme Issues, Borg said that the results of the latest SME Barometer should serve as a serious warning to the Government. Almost four out of every five small and medium-sized businesses are either uncertain about investing or do not believe it would be wise to invest over the next 12 months. At the same time, 64% of SMEs say that Malta is heading in the wrong direction.
"These are not figures produced by the Opposition. This is the voice of businesses that are feeling the burden of the Government's bad decisions every day," Alex Borg said. He maintained that the Government cannot continue boasting solely about Gross Domestic Product growth while businesses are facing higher costs, bureaucracy, a shortage of adequately skilled workers, traffic and infrastructure that cannot cope with demand.
Borg said that the Partit Nazzjonalista wants an economy based on productivity, innovation and jobs that create greater value. "We cannot continue growing the economy simply by increasing the population and consumption. That may produce bigger figures, but it does not produce a better country," the PN Leader said.
On the crisis in the electricity supply, Alex Borg said that the Government is refusing serious scrutiny because it knows this would expose years of poor planning, insufficient investment and misplaced priorities. He said that Enemalta workers are not responsible for the Government's political failure. On the contrary, they are working in difficult conditions to repair faults and deserve support and appropriate compensation. The PN Leader said that families and businesses affected by prolonged or repeated power cuts should receive compensation automatically, through a clear and transparent process.
"When a service fails, the consumer should be provided with a remedy. People cannot continue having to plead for compensation on a case-by-case basis," Alex Borg said. He also criticised the Government for unilaterally closing Parliament for the summer to avoid debating the motion of no confidence in Minister Miriam Dalli, and for blocking scrutiny of the Auditor General's report in the Public Accounts Committee.
Here Alex Borg announced that, in the coming days, the Partit Nazzjonalista will convene the social partners represented on the Malta Council for Economic and Social Development, the MCESD, to discuss the electricity crisis. The meeting will address the energy crisis, the way forward and the automatic compensation mechanism which the Opposition is insisting should be introduced.
Alex Borg said that he would continue visiting localities and meeting residents, businesses, workers, Local Councils and organisations directly. He said that politics is not conducted solely from an office, at a press conference or on social media. "I do not want an Opposition that only appears in front of a camera. I want an Opposition that is present in communities, listens to people's problems and works on concrete solutions," Borg said. He maintained that the work of the Opposition does not take a holiday while people's problems persist.
On the Bill establishing the National Commission for Human Rights and Equality, Borg reiterated that the Partit Nazzjonalista agrees with the principle of having a strong, independent and credible commission. However, he said that precisely because of the importance of this legislation, the Government should have held genuine consultations with the Opposition, NGOs and civil society. "A law on human rights cannot be drafted through a process that ignores the voices of those who work in this field every day," Alex Borg said. He said that the PN is ready to return to the negotiating table immediately so that better legislation can be approved, with broad consensus and following genuine consultation.
Finally, when asked about the trial currently taking place in connection with the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia, and whether criticism that the Opposition has not commented on the evidence emerging in court is justified, the PN Leader replied that the Opposition does not want in any way to interfere with or prejudice the trial. "Any comment, whether excessive or insufficient, could cause harm. I therefore felt that political maturity required us to take a step back while continuing to follow proceedings closely," he said.
He said that he had appointed a team of experts which is advising him daily on the basis of the facts emerging in court. At the appropriate time, the Opposition will comment and ensure that the necessary steps are taken. Borg concluded by saying that he has absolute confidence in the justice system. Although the country has waited a long time for justice to take its course, the PN remains confident that justice will ultimately be served, both in relation to those responsible for the murder and for the journalist's family.