Gonzi pledges balanced budget and cheaper utility bills

A new PN government would be a catalyst for economic growth, job creation, better education and cheaper energy bills, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said.

"The PN electoral programme is the answer to anybody asking which party should get his or her vote," Gonzi said on Sunday morning.

Speaking during a pre-recorded interview on the Nationalist Party's radio station, Gonzi said the policy to introduce smart energy metres in all households, factories and commercial establishments by the end of the year and the completion of the electricity interconnector linking Malta to the European energy grid by March 2014 would translate into cheaper energy bills by next year.

"These two factors would allow Malta to purchase energy at cheaper rates during the off-peak hours between 10pm and 6am," Gonzi said as he explained that households, outlets and factories which make use of appliances and machineries overnight would enjoy reductions of between 6% to 27%.

"The facility to purchase power at cheaper rates during the night would translate in cheaper utility bills for families, businesses and industry," the PN leader stressed.

Reiterating that the EU funded gas pipeline would be completed by 2018 and bring further reductions in energy bills, Gonzi said: "These initiatives are far better then the expensive Labour proposal to construct a new power plant, a Liquified Natural Gas terminal, a re-gassification plant and massive gas storage tanks which bring their own risks and surely cannot be completed in two years as Labour are falsely claiming."

Gonzi added that by 2020, 10% of Malta's energy needs would be generated through renewable energy and pledged further investments and grants in solar energy schemes.

"The creation of solar parks would give everybody the opportunity to benefit from investments in solar power. On the long run this would lead to cheaper bills and a cleaner environment," Gonzi said. 

The PN leader also said that a new PN government would reduce the country's deficit achieve a balanced budget by 2015 and if possible achieve a surplus in the following years.

This will be achieved through a Constitutional body which would review government expenditure and ensure that the country does not live beyond its means. Back in 2007, Gonzi had made a similar pledge to achieve a budget surplus by 2010, however this never materialised, with the PN government blaming the international economic crisis for the failure to fulfill the ambitious promise.

During the first eleven months of 2012, central government recorded a deficit of €342.0 million an increase of €63.8 million over the previous year.

In reaction to criticism levelled at his government's failure to introduce legislation which had been in the pipeline for a long time, Gonzi said that unfulfilled pledges such as the cohabitation law and the Whistleblower Act would be implemented in the coming legislature.

Turning his sights on education, Gonzi said that the field always was and remains at the forefront of the PN's priorities.

Highlighting a number of measures included in the PN electoral programme, Gonzi said a new PN government would hand out computer tablets to all schoolchildren aged seven to 16 attending state, church and independent schools.

He also pointed out that a new PN administration would make child care centre vouchers available to all parents, including parents who take a break from their job to further their studies.

The PN leader also noted that the programme includes proposals to regulate education stipends through the cost of living adjustment mechanism (COLA) and increase the number of scholarships offered at tertiary level.

Gonzi listed the schools the PN intends to open every year starting with a girl's school at tal-Handaq this year, another girl's secondary school in Kirkop in 2014, a boy's secondary in Paola in 2015, a girls secondary in Hamrun in 2016, a boys secondary in Hamrun in 2017, a boys secondary in Pembroke in 2018, a primary school in Marsascala in 2019 and a boys secondary in Hamrun in 2020.

"Our programme translate a safe and secure future into a long list of targets and proposals in the educational field which would continue strengthening the country's sound footing," Gonzi said.

In his concluding remarks, Gonzi said: "These initiatives not only are sustainable but will be a catalyst for economic growth, job creation, more strart up businesses, smaller government and more space for the private sector to grow."