Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1045682
NEWS maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 31 OCTOBER 2018 2 CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 The Budget, he said, represented a progressive way of doing politics – creating and distributing wealth fairly. This success, Muscat argued, would not have been possible without a turnaround of Enemalta, Air Malta and the health sector, which had pre- viously exhibited frailty. It was for this reason, he said, that Malta's economy had grown three times more than the European average. In his speech on Monday, Delia said that he had met a number of individuals who were forced to close down their businesses because they couldn't make ends meet. Muscat repudiated this fact when he said, "it's true that some individuals had to close down their businesses as the Opposition leader rightly said, a total of 4,000, in fact. But the Opposition leader re- fused to mention how 12,000 individuals opened new businesses just last year." Responding to Delia's criticism, that most people could no longer afford a new home and that the rate of home-owners was decreasing, Muscat said that in 2008 the rate of home-owners was at 76% but at present it was lurching close to 80%. According to Muscat, Delia was once again mis- taken when it comes to disseminating statistics when he said that 15,000 foreigners came to Malta last year, 11,000 of whom were from outside the EU. "I will quote your own publication, which you yourself got wrong," he told Delia. "Last year we had 8,826 people coming to Malta, only 3,904 of whom came from outside the EU." Irrespective of this, Muscat argued, it simply was not consistent to say that this was an econo- my that was based on an increasing population. "If it were that simple, every country would be inviting foreigners," he said. "If that were true, then Sudan should be enjoying the largest eco- nomic growth since it experienced the largest increase in population, but it's economic growth was down by 6%." Muscat said the European state with the largest increase in population was Luxembourg, which saw its economy increase by 17% since 2013, but Malta's economy had increased by 40% during the same period. Muscat said that Delia was scaring Malta with the 18th Century Malthusian growth model, spe- cifically the Malthusian catastrophe, a model that predicts a forced return to subsistence-level con- ditions once population growth outpaces produc- tion. "Today," Muscat said, "we have the Delia catastrophe, and I urgently advise the Opposition leader to dispose of this argument." From deficit to surplus Muscat said that ultimately he was talking about a situation that had seen the country go from the largest deficit in history in 2012 to the largest sur- plus in history. The National Development fund, he said, had become one of the 50 largest sovereign funds in the world. The economy, he said, was depending less on public spending and more on private investment, with the national debt accumulated over the last three legislatures having been paid off since 2013. He dismissed arguments by the Opposition that Malta's debt was increasing, insisting that even Form 3 economics students knew that a debt bur- den needed to be measured in relation to one's in- come. Since 2012, he said Malta had gone from having below average employment levels, to one where employment figures were above the European av- erage. "This is not only the government that works, but it is the government for work. The natural home for all Maltese and Gozitan citizens," Mus- cat charged. Unprecedented investment Muscat said the government was making an un- precedented level of investment in infrastructure, as it had done on education. Pensioners and those requiring medicine from the national healthcare service had also seen the benefits of the govern- ment's increased investment, he said. Investment in Gozo was 65% higher this year than it was last year, while investment in the environ- ment and social services had similarly increased, Muscat continued. All this had been accomplished while register- ing a budgetary surplus. "This government, after entering in office in 2013, has reduced income tax year on year and today, rather than €800 million, is making €1,870 million from income tax." He accused the Opposition of misquoting pov- erty statistics, stressing that, according to official statistics, child poverty was at its lowest point since 2006. "The only poverty we can do nothing about is the Opposition's poverty of ideas." Muscat continued to run through measures en- acted by his administration, including renegotiat- ing the cost of school uniforms, removing fees on public exams, removing income tax on a minimum wage salary, introducing a mechanism for the wage of those on the minimum wage to increase every year and reducing the price of over 200 medicines. The government, he insisted, could not control the market to help keep the cost of living down, but it could intervene, as it was doing. Time to discuss obligatory union membership Muscat suggested it was time for the country to discuss the possibility of introducing an obligation for workers to be part of union, and to similarly oblige all companies to form part of a chamber of commerce of some sort. This, he said, would ensure bargaining power for employees and more regulation for businesses, while also contributing to the country continue to raise its standards. First attempt at regulating rents in a generation On home ownership, he said that while families with children who were home owners had de- creased under the PN, the figure had increased by nearly 11,000 since 2013. He acknowledged that increase in property prices had brought about a number of problems, but these were also being addressed by the government. The White Paper recently published by the gov- ernment was the first serious attempt at regulat- ing rents in a generation, with Muscat insisting he hoped the Opposition would contribute construc- tively to the discussion. 'Treats for the boys' In comments to the media after leaving Parlia- ment, Delia said that, despite the rhetoric, Mus- cat's two-hour speech showed how the govern- ment lacked a long-term vision. Details on sectors like the environment, infrastructure and educa- tion were still not brought to light, he said. He accused the Prime Minister of quoting "ficti- tious statistics" which – he said – did not reflect today's reality. "Treats for the boys and tricks for the people," Delia said. Notice The Regulator for Energy & Water Services would like to inform the general public that the offices of the Regulator will be closed on Friday 2 nd November 2018. The offices will reopen on Monday 5 th November 2018 The Regulator apologises for any inconvenience. Millennia 2 nd Floor, Aldo Moro Road, Marsa, MRS 9065 ,Malta. Tel.: 21220619; Fax.: 22955200 http://www.rews.org.mt Muscat says 2019 Budget is 'the biggest financial package in Malta's history' YANNICK PACE THE General Workers Union (GWU) has hit out against the use of xenophobic and discrimi- natory statements to stoke fears of, and hatred towards, foreign- ers living in Malta. These people, the union stressed, were working with the local population and contrib- uting to the future of the thou- sands who receive social benefits and pensions every year. In a statement issued yesterday, the union claimed that the coun- try was going through a period of economic growth and social empowerment that would guar- antee the citizens' future. It said that it was, therefore, a shame that there were those who in- tended to "spread far-right ideas by repackaging them as tradi- tional values or love towards the nation". In recent months, criticism has been levelled at Opposition lead- er Adrian Delia for his portrayal of Malta's foreign workforce. In his reaction to the Budget on Monday, Delia dedicated a significant part of his speech to what he said were problems driven by a sudden increase in foreign workers. "What is more outrageous and upsetting is the sort of language being used in an effort to stoke fears and hatred towards foreign- ers who have come to live among us, who work with us and who contribute towards the future of those thousands of people who receive social benefits and pen- sions each year," the union said. It said that rhetorical com- ments advocating for selective immigration, or which differen- tiates between foreign workers on the basis of "whether they are from the European conti- nent, the European Union, Asia or Africa, are dangerous because they are on the level of that used by parties across Europe that have gained legitimacy through the fear they have sowed them- selves". Moreover, the union sought to remind the political class of its responsibility to only transmit facts to the nation, and not state- ments based on conjecture. "Rhetoric that paints foreign- ers as people that are lowering wages for workers are very far from the truth for the simple reason that when workers are part of a union, there can never be discrimination in wages," the GWU said. It added that no collective agreement negotiated by a un- ion could differentiate between workers. Finally, the union insisted that it had, in recent years, defended and promoted diversity within society, which it said could only strengthen the country and bet- ter prepare it for the future. Anti-foreign workers discourse disrespects 'EU Social Charter' In a separate statement, the leftist think-tank Zminijietna said "EU citizens have every right to find work and live in another European country". It added that in Malta the to- tal amount of EU workers stood at 31,000, with a further 12,000 workers coming from non-EU states. "Blaming foreign workers for Malta's woes is very dangerous," the think-tank said, adding that EU Treaties also contain a gen- eral ban on discrimination on the grounds of nationality. The Treaties specifically state that freedom of movement for workers necessarily entails the abolition of any discrimination based on nationality between workers as regards employment, remuneration and other condi- tions of work and employment. Workers' union warns about threat of xenophobic rhetoric