Government spending review underway/ Malta News Briefing – Monday 2nd May 2022

Updated 1300

Government spending review underway: Finance Minister Clyde Caruana has confirmed that a government spending review is underway to mitigate the impact of energy subsidies on public finances.  The review comes as government remains committed to keeping energy and fuel prices stable in the wake of rising international oil and gas prices. According to media reports, Caruana said that Government was intent on keeping water and electricity rates unchanged was important not to burden consumers and the economy. However, he insisted on the need to control increasing deficit and debt levels. (Via Maltatoday)

MDB supporting SMEs through new schemes: Following the European Commission’s announcement of the approval of MDB’s Guaranteed Co-Lending Scheme under state aid rules, the MDB has also received a positive opinion by the State Aid Monitoring Board on the GCLS under the De Minimis and GBER state aid regimes. In addition, a positive state aid opinion was also received on a second product, the SME Guarantee Scheme (SGS), which is also partly backed by the EGF. Read more here. 

Police asked to investigate Gafa bribery: Police have been asked by Court to investigate claims that former OPM official Neville Gafa attempted to bribe witnesses to stop them testifying in a medical visa scam libel case that he lost today. Gafà has lost two libel suits over stories implicating him in the alleged racket back in 2014. The stories, published on the Sunday paper in August 2016, claimed that a “Government official was netting up to €150,000 a month in medical visa scam” and “Receipts show €35,000 in payments made to Neville Gafà by Libyan middleman.” (Via Times of Malta)

Covid-19 Update: Covid cases have gone down to 3,351, health authorities have reported, while the country has registered its 700th pandemic-related death after two people passed away overnight. Today Malta has lifted more restrictive measures, including the need to wear masks except on flights, in hospital and in care homes. All social activities were green-lighted from today.

Morning Briefing

Millions to keep price of flour stable – Abela

PM Robert Abela said that Government has allocated unspecified ‘millions’ (of euro) to keep the price of flour stable. Addressing a Labour crowd outside Castille, Abela revealed that this direct assistance had been greenlit by cabinet this week. The monies will be offered to food importers on condition that they do not raise prices. He added that the government will continue to do everything possible to protect the country from the price rises hitting mainland Europe. Abela said that while Malta too had seen a hike in prices, inflation rates on the island were half what they were in Europe. (Times of Malta)

Grech calls on Azzopardi to substantiate donations for pardon claim

PN leader Bernard Grech gave Jason Azzopardi 24 hours to substantiate claims made on social media that PN received donations in exchange for a presidential pardon. In a statement on Sunday evening the Nationalist Party said that during a meeting of the Administrative Council of the party, Grech presented a motion that within 24 hours Jason Azzopardi must submit and substantiate the allegations before the Ethics, Discipline and Social Media Commission. (Maltatoday)

Covid-19 Situation

Malta has reported 120 new positive cases of Covid-19, with the number of known active cases dropping to 3,424 from yesterday’s 3,528, with 244 people deemed to have recovered. No new deaths were recorded, with the national death toll since the start of the pandemic at 698, according to the data published online by the Superintendence of Public Health.