Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1414163
3 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 26 SEPTEMBER 2021 NEWS PRELIMINARY MARKET CONSULTATION The Ministry for Tourism and Consumer Protection hereby notifies interested parties that it is issuing a PRELIMINARY MARKET CONSULTATION (PMC) for the provision of services to design and develop a Cost Benefit Analysis addressing digital investment in the Tourism Sector across the Maltese Islands (Ref: MTCP 01/21). The PMC document can be downloaded from etenders.gov.mt. Response to the PMC is to be submitted through etenders.gov.mt by not later than Monday, 4th October 2021 at 10 am (GMT+2). For any queries you can send an email on digitaltourism@gov.mt MINISTRY FOR TOURISM AND CONSUMER PROTECTION CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 The figures show that there was no exodus of foreigners in 2020 but the pandemic did curb the exponential increase of pre- vious years. Finance Minister Clyde Caru- ana, who is also responsible for the labour market, believes the contradiction between the NSO population figures and the claimed exodus of foreign labour is down to people who were employed in the shadow economy. "Foreigners did leave but most of those who left were working in the shadow economy and so there were no official records of them. This became appar- ent when we started paying the COVID wage supplement and employers who had foreigners on their books who did not have a work permit had to let them go because they could not ap- ply for the assistance," Caruana told MaltaToday. He estimates that around 10,000 foreigners who worked in the shadow economy left be- cause of the pandemic. Separate statistics made avail- able by JobsPlus, the national employment agency, show that by the end of 2020, employed foreign nationals amounted to 70,402. Workers from EU member states made up 44% of total foreign employment in Malta while non-EU nationals accounted for 56%. The rest of the NSO popu- lation statistics show that St Paul's Bay remained the most populous locality despite a de- cline in the number of foreign- ers living there. The seaside locality had a pop- ulation of 31,789 by end Decem- ber 2020, a decline of 415 from the previous year. An increase of 155 in Maltese residents was offset by decline of 570 in St Paul's Bay's foreign residents. In 2020, foreigners made up 52% of the population in St Paul's Bay, a percentage point drop over 2019. The NSO statistics show that Birkirkara retained the title of the second largest locality with a population of 25,790. But un- like St Paul's Bay, foreigners on- ly made up 17% of the popula- tion in Birkirkara. Sliema retained third place with a population of 24,412. Foreigners accounted for 43% of all residents. ksansone@mediatoday.com.mt Finance minister: foreign labour never left Clyde Caruana: "Foreigners did leave but most of those who left were working in the shadow economy and so there were no official records of them." Abela addresses United Nations ROBERT Abela has said Mal- ta's goal is to become a leader in small island state governance, standing ready to share the country's plans on decarbonisa- tion and digitalisation. Abela said carbon neutrality is one of the five major pillars of Malta's economic vision for 2030. On Friday, the Prime Minis- ter remotely addressed the 76th meeting of the United Nations General Assembly. Abela emphasised that mul- tilateralism was the key to a strong and sustainable future and urged world leaders plan and commit to a strong recov- ery from the pandemic for a more egalitarian and sustainable world. On climate change, Abela ac- knowledged the need for ur- gent action and pledged Malta's commitment to an inclusive approach, where the voices of those states most affected by its impacts are heard. He also remarked that Libya requires support from the inter- national community for a suc- cessful political transition; for the Libyan people, the region, the African continent, and the world.