Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1507552
CLYDE Caruana came out of hibernation this week to set the agenda for the upcoming budget during a meeting with the social part- ners. In no uncertain terms he said high inflation is here to stay and he will aim for an expansive budget. The latter commitment came with the cave- at that he will strive to keep the deficit within the 5% target even if still above the EU thresh- old of 3%. The truth is that the Finance Minister can- not do otherwise than open his hands irre- spective of the EU's deficit target. Malta's infrastructure is creaking in sev- eral areas - waste management in certain localities is a mess; several road projects are taking forever to complete with contractors complaining of payment delays; Gozo needs a new general hospital; the country needs a new mental hospital to replace the ancient Mount Carmel; a new collective agreement for nurses concluded this year has to be fi- nanced and educators are next in line right- fully waiting for their pay packet to increase generously; more investment is required in intelligent systems for public transport and enforcement; and the list can go on. But among this expansive strategy - much of which is an investment in improved quality of life - Caruana has to find the cash to give the hardworking middle class lasting and signifi- cant reprieve. The 'sinjur żgħir' mantra propagated by for- mer prime minister Joseph Muscat has lost its lustre. Somehow, middle income earners no longer feel they are well off. The measures from 2014 onwards that left more money in people's pockets have now lost steam. To make matters worse, inflation has continued to eat into people's pockets. A €200 spend at the supermarket today buys far less products than it did three years ago. Ser- vices have shot up and eating out has become somewhat of a luxury for many. The middle class is losing its breath as its purchasing power is eroded and its lifestyle challenged. The savings many made during the COV- ID interlude as a result of less spending have gradually been eaten away and the ability to save has eroded. This leader believes the middle class, which does not depend on government handouts and is the pumping heart of the economy through its hard work and con- sumption, needs a breather. And this can no longer come in the form of a measly one- off yearly cheque. Caruana must permanently cut income tax for the middle class by widening the tax brackets. This leader stands by what it proposed last May: the non-taxable portion should in- crease, while the current top rate of 25% for those earning less than €60,000 should drop to 15% for a substantial portion of middle income earners. The government could also introduce a new 20% rate to differentiate the mass of people that currently pay at 25%. The inevitable shortfall in income for gov- ernment can be mitigated if the tax adjust- ments are introduced gradually and a con- certed effort is done to curb tax evasion. Caruana must also carry out periodic spend- ing reviews of the different ministries to en- sure that money which has been voted is used correctly and efficiently. If money allocated to individual ministries remains unused - or worse, is used irresponsibly - then Caruana should trim budgets. Every person employed with the public sec- tor must be useful, including those engaged by external agencies like Wasteserv and Transport Malta. Consultancies and persons of trust should be kept to the minimum. Cor- ruption should be weeded out and fought tooth and nail. The Finance Minister must exert more con- trol on other ministries and to do so he must also adopt a stronger public persona. The Caruana show cannot be confined to the three-month interlude straddling the budget period. Unless Caruana wants to see the middle class engine spluttering with the veritable risk of seizing up, he has to provide a morale booster. Caruana's next budget must provide the ray of hope that allows Malta's hard workers and self-employed the chance to dream and achieve. The hardworking middle class needs a morale booster 11 EDITORIAL maltatoday MaltaToday, MediaToday Co. Ltd, Vjal ir-Rihan, San Gwann SGN 9016 MANAGING EDITOR: SAVIOUR BALZAN EXECUTIVE EDITOR: KURT SANSONE EDITOR: PAUL COCKS Tel: (356) 21 382741-3, 21 382745-6 Website: www.maltatoday.com.mt E-mail: dailynews@mediatoday.com.mt maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 13 SEPTEMBER 2023 other words, "there is no problem whatsoever with Malta's planning department; everything would work out just fine... if only devel- opers also 'did their bit', like every- one else.") Either way, however: the out- come remains the same. Like Lambkin, Prime Minister Robert Abela will very soon discover the ultimate limits of his own credibil- ity... if he hasn't done that, already. Because let's face it, folks: no- body is believing him, anymore. The developers certainly aren't: that's why they're so candid, and open, about submitting "appli- cations that do not conform to the regulations" (like Abela don't them not to do, just last week). The Planning Authority don't seem to believe him, either. Clear- ly, they haven't rejected the ap- plication outright (as the Prime Minister implicitly expected them to). And who can possibly blame them, either: when you also re- member that – by definition – the PA is actually a Constitutional- ly-appointed body, that is sup- posed to be autonomous from the executive arm of the State? Simply put: unless the govern- ment itself effects any changes, to Malta's planning policies and reg- ulations... the Planning Authority is powerless, to reject those 'irreg- ular' applications. It can only in- terpret, and apply, the regulations that are currently in place. And contrary to the Prime Min- ister's repeated assurances: those planning policies DO permit ODZ development to take place: partly, by doggedly refusing to ever back- track on the Nationalist Party's decision, in 2005, to extend those development boundaries... ... and partly, by ensuring that the planning regulations themselves remain riddled with loopholes (to be duly exploited, time and again, by any well-connected developer you care to name). Those are the problems within the planning department, that the government REALLY has to ad- dress: if it genuinely wants to en- sure that there are no more 'cow- boys, who believe they can force their position'. Because those cowboys will most definitely continue to exist – and will continue believing they CAN, in fact, 'force their position' – for as long as the system allows them to keep getting away with murder. Meanwhile, the only person who CAN, effectively, change that sys- tem, is... well, the same one who's telling us it 'doesn't actually need to change', in the first place (and expecting us all to believe him, too!) And this is why I very much doubt there is anyone left, at all - even within the Labour Par- ty's own support-base - who still believes Robert Abela, when he consistently tells us that there's no 'Wollof', to be alarmed about... even though we can all see that darn 'Wollof', huffing and puffing away, practically everywhere we look. Moral of the story? Well, just look at what happened to poor little Lambkin: torn apart and de- voured... not by the 'Wollof', in the end; but by what was previously his most loyal, trustworthy 'pro- tector'... Like Lambkin, Prime Minister Robert Abela will very soon discover the ultimate limits of his own credibility... if he hasn't done that, already