‘The country’s current success cannot be taken for granted’

The Malta Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise and Industry has presented its proposals for the Budget 2020 to the Prime Minister

“Malta’s economic success needs to be managed and safeguarded, in order for sustainable growth to be ascertained in the future,” said Perit David Xuereb, as he presented the Chamber’s proposals for Budget 2020 to the Prime Minister on Monday.

Flanked by members of the Board of Management, the Malta Chamber president said that the proposals were based on feedback received from members of the Chamber and focused on six main areas that were deemed of crucial importance for the country’s economy.

Perit Xuereb said that the exceptionally positive economic results the country had achieved in recent years could not be taken for granted, especially in the light of a slowdown in growth rates which was forecast for the future.

“Our proposals for the Budget 2020 are aimed at incentivising further economic growth, improving the quality of life of citizens and ascertaining the economic and environmental sustainability of the country,” Perit Xuereb said.

To ascertain sustainability in the future, the President explained that top of the list for the Chamber, was the increase in labour costs, such as additional leave, together with a series of other burdens which had to be carried by the employer, and which were added in recent years.

Xuereb also shed light on the importance for the country to start taking R&D seriously, once and for all.

With a view to manage the success, the Chamber’s proposals also called on reforming a number of sectors that were weighing the country down significantly.

These were the public transport system and the need for the introduction of alternative and innovative modes of transport, the proposed Rent Law which fell short of any and all expectations of the sector, the building and construction industry which needed to up its game in order to start thinking in terms of quality and a thorough cleansing of the Financial Services Industry, which was suffering from a bad reputation because of a small number of rogue practitioners which were giving a bad name to all of the sector and the country.

The Chamber’s proposals were also previously presented to the Minister of Finance as well as the Malta Council for Economic and Social Development.