Updated 1615 – Afternoon Briefing
The Times of Malta reports that an elderly pedestrian was killed after being hit by a truck in Zejtun while a 90-year-old motorist was seriously injured in a traffic accident in Gudja on Tuesday morning.
Maltatoday says that the seated vacated by late PN MP Robert Arrigo will be contested between Emma Portelli Bonnici and Albert Buttigieg after former Nationalist MP Karl Gouder announced that he will not contest the upcoming casual election on the 10th district.
Newsbook follows a tweet by NGO Alarm Phone which said that some 1,350 asylum seekers are in distress in Malta and Italy’s search and rescue area.
TVM says that the victim of a traffic accident that occurred in Marsa yesterday has been identified. He is a 24-year-old Venezuelan national.
Updated 1230
San Andrea Board chairperson resigns
The San Andrea school saga took another twist with the Board chairman resigningt over claims of financial mismanagement. “I want to clear my name because I have been unfairly hit in the media,” Alexander Tortell told aparents, trustees, guardians and school staff in a meeting yesterday evening.
Tortell was appointed chairman in September 2021 and the claims pre-date his term in office.“I have worked hard like all of you to have a reputation, integrity and dignity and I won’t let anyone take that away from me. I will even take legal action to clear my name.” (Maltatoday)
Ministers declare assets for 2021
PM Robert Abela has declared three properties and over €370,000 in savings in various bank accounts as the Cabinet Minister reported their assets for the past year. Abela declared that he owned properties in Marsascala, Zejtun and Xewkija. Finance Minister Clyde Caruana declared €185,483.35 to his name in a joint account and his declared income was his ministerial salary and an additional €3,943 which he receives as a visiting lecturer at the University of Malta. (Newsbook)
Morning Briefing
Government highlights stability in Budget 2023
Low-income earners were the prime target of next year’s budget with Finance Minister Clyde Caruana revealing a number of measures were introduced to help low-income earners and pensioners remain afloat during a wave of rising prices. Government is projecting that the economy will grow at 3.5 per cent next year, outpacing the EU average but marking the slowest rate of GDP growth in more than a decade. Budget 2023 sees pensioners get a higher cost-of-living increase, at €12.50, with the rest of the population getting €9.90. “The vulnerable in our society are the ones at risk with the impact of the cost-of-living,” Caruana said in his budget speech. With an expenditure estimated at between €10 million and €11 million, around 37,000 families, accounting for 80,000 people, will receive on average a cheque of €300. Finance Minister Clyde Caruana said this benefit will start being paid from this year and families will be receiving their cheque just before Christmas.
Addressing a press conference after the finance minister delivered his budget speech, Abela said this was a strong budget which put the people’s difficulties at the centre. It showed how the government was helping families in this time of need. The Nationalist Party remarked at the perceived significant cost of the event during which, according to the Opposition, Abela would be repeating the same things that Minister Caruana said few moments before.
Times of Malta – Budget at a glance
The budget shows that the deficit is set to reach 5.8% of the GDP this year, 0.2 percentage points above what it had projected last year Malta’s deficit is expected to increase from €955 million this year to €980 million next year, according to the 2023 Budget announced by Caruana. Debt levels are expected to increase by another billion euro next year.
Spending on energy next year will reach exceed half a billion, 9.3% of the government’s recurrent expenditure.
Budget in the Red – PN
PN Leader Bernard Grech said that the 2023 Budget is a ‘Budget in the red,’ describing the government’s plan as one which continues to increase debt with an ironic reference to the new budget briefcase. He insisted this Budget does not address the quality of life of the Maltese people, nor does the government know where it wants to take the country. “There is no certainty or stability, this is a government with no solutions, and it gave us more of the same promises which were not fulfilled,” Grech said, adding that government has not fulfilled a quarter of the previous promises. “The budget has lots of nice words, but no solutions. It does not address people’s quality of life,” Grech added, promising to lay out his party’s vision during next week’s response.
President supports Kosovo’s EU accession future
President George Vella has expressed Malta’s continuous support to Kosovo in its path towards EU accession and recalled Malta’s support for Kosovo’s participation in multilateral fora. During a press conference after official talks with President Vjosa Osmani-Sadriu, the President of Malta said that he welcomed the European Commission’s enlargement report issued on the 12th of October and encouraged Kosovo to continue on its path to further enhance its European perspective. He also added that Malta supports the European Commission’s proposal for visa liberalisation. From the broader regional perspective, President Vella said that the Western Balkans region cannot be detached from a stable and secure Europe and the Mediterranean. “Malta, therefore, fully supports the use of a merit-based approach, which includes fair and rigorous conditionality, and encourages candidate countries and potential candidates to continue pursuing necessary reforms in the interest of their citizens,” the President remarked.
