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MaltaToday 23 April 2025

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7 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 23 APRIL 2025 NEWS JAMES DEBONO jdebono@mediatoday.com.mt Malta set to exit excessive deficit procedure two years ahead of schedule MALTA is now set to exit the excessive deficit procedure two years ahead of schedule, data published by the National Sta- tistics Office shows. "Thanks to responsible fiscal management, prudent deci- sion-making, and a strong com- mitment to good governance, the Maltese Government has placed the country on a path of financial sustainability and en- sured a stronger-than-expect- ed recovery," Finance Minister Clyde Caruana said. The latest data shows that the national deficit for 2024 was 3.7%, improving by 0.8 per- centage points over the budg- eted 4.5%. Similarly, the debt- to-GDP ratio fell to 47.4%, significantly lower than the projected 55.3%, marking a sharp 7.9 percentage point im- provement. In light of the positive trends registered during the first months of this year, the deficit forecast for 2025 is now being revised from 3.5% to 3.3%. During a press conference on Tuesday, Caruana said: "To- day's announcement from the NSO reaffirms the effective- ness of this government's eco- nomic strategy. We remained focused on reducing the defi- cit without compromising the country's growth momentum or social well-being." The improvement comes de- spite millions of euros being spent to subsidise electricity bills, fuel and grains to main- tain stable prices for consum- ers. The government has been under pressure from the Eu- ropean Commission and cred- it rating agencies to phase out indiscriminate subsidies and direct them towards vulnerable groups instead. Caruana has pushed back against this pressure insisting the subsidies were needed to cushion consumers and busi- nesses from the impact of in- ternational uncertainty. "Thanks to targeted measures and sound governance, we have not only met our fiscal targets but surpassed them, allow- ing us to implement impactful budget measures that benefit the Maltese citizens," Caruana said. The minister said the gov- ernment remains committed to fiscal sustainability and to investing in the well-being of citizens. In July 2024, Europe's heads of state adopted the European Commission's excessive deficit procedures for Malta and six other member states, calling on the respective governments to return spending levels under EU limits. Malta had a deficit of 4.9% in 2023 and government debt at 50.4% of GDP. Member states will have to bring back their deficit to at least 3% of their gross domestic product and na- tional debt not exceeding 60% of GDP. The commission said Malta'ss excess deficit in 2023 was not exceptional, resulting neither from an unusual event nor from a severe economic down- turn. 30 localities in Malta have fewer bring-in sites than they require MOSTA and 13 other localities do not have a single bring-in site, while St Paul's Bay only has one when it needs 16, information tabled in parliament shows. Official guidelines indicate that every locality should have one bring-in site for every 2,000 residents. This means that a town with 10,000 resi- dents should have five bring-in sites. But according to information tabled in parliament recently, 30 local councils have fewer bring-in sites than the officially recommended number. These include 14 localities that do not have a single bring- in site. The largest of these, Mosta, should have 11 bring-in sites but does not have a single one. Attard and Fgura should have six bring-in sites each but have none, while Gżira should have five but also has none. St Paul's Bay only has one bring-in site, even though it should have 16. Other localities with a shortage of bring-in sites include Sliema, which should have nine but only has three. Birkirkara is another large lo- cality with a shortage – it only has three bring-in sites when it should have 12. Qormi which needs 10 only has three. In contrast, 13 localities have more bring-in sites than they require. The most notable is San Ġwann, which has the larg- est number of bring-in sites – 19 – when it only needs seven. Mellieħa also has more bring- in sites than required, with 10 instead of six. Bring-in sites are designated areas where residents can dis- pose of separated recyclable materials such as paper, plas- tic, metal, and glass. These sites are managed through collabo- rations between local councils and waste compliance schemes like Green MT and GreenPak. Bring-in sites were intro- duced in multiple locations in Malta in 2003, in an effort to improve the source separation of recyclable waste. New owner applies to renew Marsaxlokk hotel permit THE new owner of the Hunters Tower in Marsaxlokk, GB Lei- sure Group, has applied to renew a permit for hotel development issued seven years ago. The outline permit setting pa- rameters for the development of the 125-room hotel was issued in 2018. It expires in November 2026. The Planning Authority had al- so issued a permit for the demo- lition of the existing building and to excavate the site. However, it still has to issue the full develop- ment permit for the hotel project. The site's new owner, GB Lei- sure Group, a company owned by Gilbert Bugeja, who is also one of the owners of the Bilom Con- struction Group, has declared having full ownership in the re- newal application. The application foresees no changes over the hotel develop- ment approved in 2018. The outline permit stipulates that the hotel will be built over three floors and a receded fourth level, in the immediate vicinity of the Il-Magħluq marshland. The hotel would replace the popular restaurant and its sur- rounding garden. The site is lo- cated outside development zones and in an area identified for hotel development, according to a de- velopment brief issued in 2014. The development does not im- pinge on land outside the foot- print of the existing restaurant and its outdoor area but will be considerably larger than the ex- isting building . An Environment Impact Assessment had recog- nised a negative visual impact but the studies also excluded negative impacts on the nearby wetlands, which are granted maximum en- vironmental protection. The hotel's modern architecture will dominate the area KARL AZZOPARDI kazzopardi@mediatoday.com.mt

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