Finance Minister refutes Busuttil’s ‘lack of economic direction’ claims

Edward Scicluna and Chris Cardona visits the World Aviation Group • Video Ray Attard

Finance Minister Edward Scicluna hit out at Opposition leader Simon Busuttil’s claims that the Budget showed no new areas of economic activity, reflecting the government’s lack of economic direction.

“You can’t look at the economy as the setting up of new economic niches as it used to exist in the sixties,” Scicluna said. “There is no monopoly of ideas. The market is out there and we need to make Malta more attractive and receptive to investors.” He mentioned the maritime hub project, the Life Sciences Park project, the film industry and back-office administration as fields that will boost Malta’s economy in the future.

He was speaking during a visit to the World Aviation Group call-centre in Luqa where workers take calls on behalf of local companies like Air Malta and Transport Malta, and foreign companies like Gumtree.

“Malta has become an exporter of services," Scicluna said, later citing an office in Birkirkara that employs 20 people to give telephone interviews on behalf of foreign companies and an office in Sliema that manages foreign pensions.

He also said that, since the call-centre employs a high percentage of women, it will benefit from a new maternity fund as announced in the Budget. Employers will contribute to the fund according to how many people they employ.

“Maternity leave will not be a burden on individual employers but on the industrial force as a whole,” Scicluna said. “This will help put female job-seekers on a level playing-field with males.”

Scicluna also downplayed Busuttil’s claims that the public debt has risen to its highest rate since Malta’s EU accession.

“The debt increased by €192 million between September 2013 and September 2014, but the deficit has been decreasing since 2012 and now stands at 2.1%,” Scicluna said. “Investors aren’t interested in local politics but in what professional credit-rating agencies have to say about Malta’s economy.” Standard and Poor, Fitch, and Moody’s have all rated Malta’s economy as positive and table this year.

Meanwhile, Economy Minister Chris Cardona said that the World Aviation Group will benefit from the 25% reduction in water and electricity tariffs for businesses that is set to be introduced in March.