News Update
Prime Minister Interview
The private sector should be roped in to help the government deliver major capital projects, Prime Minister Robert Abela said on Sunday. Speaking during an interview on the Labour Party’s ONE Radio, Abela said it would be a “mistake” if the government were to stop being an active participant in driving the economy forward.
Speaking on One Radio, Abela said that the government will be focused on providing economic peace of mind to businesses, in part by offering price stability through energy subsidies.
“If government, in this important moment, decreases financial aid, will it increase or decrease stability? Now is not the moment to take decisions that could instigate economic instability,” he said.
He insisted that his government takes every economic decision with sustainability in mind – ensuring that each decision can remain in place for as long as needed.
Abela said he preferred the idea of partnering up with the private sector to see large-scale infrastructural projects delivered. These public-private partnerships, he said, would help keep the country’s economic engine revving. The government has 1,000 electoral pledges that it plans on delivering to this legislature and Abela said his cabinet s prioritising which of these to deliver immediately. Turning to the upcoming Budget, Abela reiterated that there would be no new taxes levied, something that perhaps some had come to take for granted, but had been unimaginable before Labour returned to power in 2013. MaltaToday – Times of Malta
Morning Briefing
Chamber suggests points system for planning
In its proposals for Budget 2023, the Malta Chamber of Commerce proposed a point system at the Planning Authority, which would require applications to obtain a minimum pass mark before being processed further. The Chamber is also proposing a national architecture policy that incorporates aesthetics and landscape, to incentivise good spatial planning in Malta. It said that the policy should include support for aesthetically qualitative and sustainable projects and a set of minimum standards for all new buildings. “Steer away from the piecemeal speculative market of pencil developments and promote qualitative larger scale lifestyle developments addressed in a holistic urban context,” the Chamber said. (Maltatoday)
I has asked Muscat to resign – Evarist Bartolo
Former Minister Evarist Bartolo revealed that he had asked former Prime Minister Joseph Muscat to resign in 2019. Replying to questions on 103 Malta’s Heart, former Labour minister Evarist Bartolo claimed that he asked Joseph Muscat to resign in 2019, Bartolo who often resorted to cryptic Facebook messages to hint at slight dissent, replied “yes, sure” when asked whether he asked the former prime minister to step down. Muscat eventually resigned in late 2019 after his office was linked to the man accused of masterminding the assassination of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia. (Newsbook)
VOs get 5.6m euro in six years
Over the past six years, voluntary organisations have received 5.6 million euro from the Government trough a support scheme purposely drawn up for them to carry out projects and initiatives, according to Minister for Voluntary Organisations Julia Farrugia Portelli. Run by the Malta Council for the Voluntary Sector, the new allocation for support schemes for voluntary organisations has been increased to 800,000 euro. (TVM News)
