Updated | Muscat expecting more US investment in Malta

Prime Minister Joseph Muscat has said that the country will be seeing the results of his visit to the US in the coming weeks. Muscat said that the economic growth being experienced by the Maltese economy is not a coincidence, but the result of the government’s efforts.

“We had an announcement of investment from America a few months ago, and in the coming weeks we will be seeing similar results,” said the Muscat.

Speaking on ONE radio, Muscat said that Malta has not been present in the US in ‘systematic way’ for a very long time, adding that this was essential for the country as with a good economic performance, the government is able to distribute wealth as it has done in next year’s budget.

“We can afford increases in pensions, we can afford to be the only country in Europe to offer tax free pensions up to €13,000 because we are bringing investment to Malta,” said Muscat

The Prime Minister said that his government was determined not to be a part of the establishment, and become consumed by a system that leaves people behind. Muscat said that the government wants to be close to the people and to understand their needs when they arise.

“We are not part of the establishment, so much so that a lot of the criticism directed towards us is about us not doing things in the usual way,” said the PM.

He said that the government will continue to challenge the status quo, and will keep looking for investment in places that are not the usual ones.

On healthcare, Muscat said that the government was succeeding in making big changes. He said that success had been achieved in reducing waiting lists and tackling the problem of out-of-stock medicines. 

"This is clearly a government that is not part of the old, not part of the establishment, it is a government of change,” he said.

On the other hand, the opposition is constantly being caught up in contradictions, said Muscat. He said that it is the opposition that represents the establishment and the status quo, referring to the Nationalist Party’s (PN) criticism of the government’s Public Private Partnership for Malta’s hospitals.

In a statement, the PN said that Muscat is so detached from the realities being faced by families and businesses the is completely changing the truth.

“The only establishment that exists in our country is made up of people that are currently in power, meaning Joseph Muscat, Keith Schembri and Konrad Mizzi,” said the PN.

The PN said that, according to a survey carried out by The Malta Independent, a majority of people feel that the Prime Minister should have sacked Keith Schembri and Konrad Mizzi after the Panama Papers scandal, and that this proved the extent to which Muscat, and those closest to him, are a part of the establishment.

“This is our country’s corrupt establishment,” the statement concluded.