Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1510993
23 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 5 NOVEMBER 2023 BUDGET2024 THE Court Services Agency, the public entity respon- sible for the administration of the law courts, has a budget allocation of €23 million next year, €1 million more than 2023. This amount includes the salaries of the Chief Justice, judges and magistrates amounting to €5.3 million. The Office of the State Advocate will receive a budget of €2.9 million, an increase of €500,000, while the At- torney General's Office, Malta's prosecution service, has been allotted a budget of €5 million, an increase of €1.5 million. The Asset Recovery Bureau, the entity responsible for taking possession of assets derived from criminality, will see its budget increase by €200,000 to €1.2 million. The budget for trials will shoot up by €2 million next year for a total of €7 million, which will be used for summoning and expenses of witnesses, jurors and ex- perts. Increased budget for criminal trials Main election plank sees budget more than doubling GOVERNMENT'S main policy plank in the last general election, urban greening, will get a budget of €23.5 million in 2024 for capital projects. This expenditure more than dou- bles the amount allotted for 2023 (€10 million) as Project Green, the agency tasked with the plans, gets go- ing with its major projects. The agen- cy itself will have a recurrent budget of €5 million. On the energy front, Budget 2024 allocates €12 million for 'energy infra- structure', and €2.2 million in charg- ing pillars for electric cars. Interconnect Malta, the govern- ment entity entrusted with the gas pipeline and interconnector projects, sees its budget increase to €6 million next year from €1 million in 2023. The increased budget is a reflection of the government's intention to step up efforts to get the second intercon- nector project done and make further progress on the gas pipeline project. A newly-formed Climate Action Authority will get a budget of €1.8 million, while €48.3 million have been dedicated to the waste to energy facility, presumably the Magħtab in- cinerator. The same ministry also has a budget allotment of €60 million for invest- ment incentives granted by Malta Enterprise. This is almost double the amount allocated this year and possi- bly reflects the joint investment with Italy and France in STMicroelec- tronics as part of the EU's efforts to encourage chipmakers to retain pro- duction in the EU. Election spend THE Electoral Commission's budget for 2024 will shoot up to €9.4 million from €3.2 million this year on the back of the European Parliament and local council elections. A similar increase in the Commission's budget hap- pened in 2022 when the general election was held. Racetrack THE promised Hal Far racetrack has a budget of €1 million earmarked for it next year as motoring enthusiasts await concrete develop- ments in 2024. Water polo pitch AFTER the Appeals Court threw out the planning applica- tion for a water polo pitch in Marsaskala, the government has re-allotted €1 million next year for such a project. It remains unclear though where the new water polo pitch will be built.