‘Cruising’ economy can be managed on an ‘even key’, says Finance Minister
● Infrastructure needs a ‘radical change’ - Mario de Marco
Finance Minister Edward Scicluna and Opposition spokesperson for finance Mario de Marco exchanged metaphorical blows on areas of interest surrounding the recently announced budget for 2019 in this week’s edition of Indepth.
Scicluna said that as the economy is “cruising” it can be managed on an “even key,” particularly by focusing on the issues currently being brought up by the populace.
“This budget was planned to give a bit here and there, but also to incentivise work. And till today we are incentivising people to work regardless of their wages as we would supplement those wages.”
Minister Scicluna was reminded that, last September, Dr Yana Mintoff had said that “our economy is built on cheap labour and precarious work.”
De Marco also said that although the majority of working foreigners came from the EU, 30 per cent were third-party nationals. He insisted that while companies were making more profit, they were not raising wages or recompensing their employees – although he did mention that it was good that companies used that profit to invest more and grow.
When asked to comment on Mintoff Bland’s remarks, Scicluna stated that 19 per cent of the labour force was foreign, and they were at the “very top of iGaming and tech companies.” He also insisted that for Malta to catch up with other countries, its economy had to grow by three to four per cent.
He again insisted that individuals those earning the minimum wage were enjoying many benefits to make up for their low income. Minister Scicluna also pointed out that there had been an overall increase of €350 million in salaries in Malta. “The government must be graded depending on where they came from – what they had in the beginning.”
In his opening remarks, Mario de Marco explained that the criticism from the Opposition was that while the economy was moving forward, the challenges of the Maltese were not being addressed entirely.
“It’s pensions and infrastructure – when you have a growing population and 40 new cars a day, the infrastructure is not adequate for the present.”
Scicluna retorted that, in this situation, it was all about changing lifestyles, the same way obesity had to be dealt with in a way that influenced individuals’ decisions on how to lead their lives. He argued that apart from providing free school transport, the government had announced that 14 to 16year-old children would be provided with free tallinja cards which would allow them to benefit from free transport after school for their other activities, such as sports.
De Marco insisted the government was not addressing the impact of the increasing number of vehicles on the roads. “We need a radical change; a radical incentive.”
The PN MP suggested three different solutions – incentives for people to make better use of the public transport system; planning, constructing, and putting into action a new form of mass transport, like a monorail; and, thirdly, expanding the maritime transport available similarly to the one between Sliema and Valletta.
He insisted that although alternative modes of transport had been included in every budget for the past 25 years, different issues had cropped up, with transport initiatives falling by the wayside.
The finance minister promptly retorted that the main difference between the parties was that while they agreed on many of the issues at hand, it was the Labour Party that actually implemented measures.
Watch the programme on www.independent.com.mt