Updated 1205
Foreign students in state schools increase by 15% in one year
The number of non-Maltese students enrolled in pre-primary to secondary schools increased by 15.6 per cent in the 2022-2023 academic year compared to the previous year, the National Statistics Office reported on Thursday. However, figures for the most recent or current academic year were not provided. According to the NSO, during the 2022-2023 school year, 25 per cent of students in private institutions were non-Maltese, while in state-run schools, the proportion was 21.1 per cent. Additionally, 63.5 per cent of non-Maltese students in pre-primary to secondary education were third-country nationals. (Times of Malta)
PN leader denies claims he supported changes to Villa Rosa local plan
Opposition leader Bernard Grech has refuted claims made by the Planning Minister that he supported changes to the Villa Rosa local plan proposed by the project’s developer. “Anyone who says I have endorsed any partial change to a Local Plan is lying. I am absolutely certain that at no point, under any circumstances, have I indicated or stated that I support a partial change to the Local Plan that would allow a project detrimental to the environment or the quality of life of residents,” Grech said in a statement on Thursday morning. On Wednesday evening, while testifying before the parliamentary committee on environment and development, Planning Minister Clint Camilleri said he Villa Rosa developer received the green light from the Opposition leader in a meeting where he detailed the proposed changes to the local plan. (The Malta Independent)
DPM Borg leads Malta delegation at Samoa CHOGM
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Ian Borg is leading Malta’s delegation at the 27th Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Samoa. Upon arrival in Apia, Borg took part in the Commonwealth Foreign Affairs Ministers Meeting (CFAMM). On Friday, he will join leaders from the Commonwealth’s 56 member states for the Executive Sessions, where they will discuss the organisation’s priorities, focusing on strengthening resilience and development to address global challenges. Borg will also attend the Heads of Government Retreat and the CHOGM Closing Session on Saturday. (Maltatoday)
Morning Briefing
Government shifting gears in year ahead – PM
Prime Minister Robert Abela said at the 2024 EY Conference in Valletta on Wednesday that with full employment and GDP convergence achieved, Government was planning to shift a gear in the years ahead. He said that government’s investment promotion strategy will start to focus on shifting Malta’s position up the global production value chain. The PM added that instead of looking at how much a project will create jobs and maximising the number of projects approved, “our agencies will focus on the types of jobs created and on the value-added properties of a project”. Abela argued that the country’s economic targets need to shift from a focus on outperforming Europe in terms of economic growth to outperforming Europe in terms of the digital and green transition. “Our future success requires us to move forward very decisively on these two fronts, or else what we achieved will not amount to much in future decades.” (The Malta Independent)
Government owed more than €1bn in tax arrears – Caruana
The government is owed more than €1 billion in income tax, but nearly €900 million of that amount is deemed “uncollectable,” according to figures presented in parliament on Tuesday. Finance Minister Clyde Caruana revealed that as of the end of last year, income tax arrears stood at €1,079,346,907. Of this, €885,605,819 is considered uncollectable, largely due to tax estimates generated when individuals and businesses failed to submit their income tax returns.Caruana noted that approximately 60 per cent of this uncollected tax is owed by companies. Additionally, the government is owed over €4.8 billion in Value Added Tax (VAT), with nearly all of it also classified as uncollectable for similar reasons. (The Times of Malta)
Siggiewi man charged with false declaration leading to locality gerrymandering
A 66-year-old man from Siġġiewi has been charged with making a false declaration to authorities in connection with the Siġġiewi gerrymandering case. The case, dating back to April, involved 99 voters falsely registered at Binja Silvio Parnis, a social housing project still under construction. A court later ordered their addresses reverted to their actual residences and launched a police investigation. Media reports suggest that these “ghost voters” had their ID cards transferred to the new address within the past three weeks, despite the building being uninhabitable. Most were from areas within Housing Minister Roderick Galdes’s constituency, who dismissed the matter as “media spin.” (Maltatoday)
