Cabinet ‘finalising details’ under which chairpersons will face parliamentary scrutiny

The chairpersons of a number of public institutions will be scrutinised by parliament, as will a number of ambassadorial appointments, under another electoral promise to be soon implemented by the government, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said on Monday. 

In a press conference convened to announce the government surplus was equal to 1% of GDP, Muscat said the Cabinet of Ministers was in the process of finalising the details, under which some chairpersons and appointments would be presented for scrutiny by parliament.  

As he battles allegations that his wife was the ultimate beneficial owner of Egrant, Muscat would not reveal what he had discussed with President Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca in a private meeting earlier in the day, except to say he had reiterated the right and duties of every individual in a democracy. 

Muscat, who was addressing a press conference called to announce that the government's surplus on accruals was established at €101 million, or 1%, in 2016, said that the country's economy turnaround was not an easy feat to achieve.

Going from a huge deficit to a €101 million surplus had not been easy, he added. 

"We did not fire anyone or freeze benefits, but introduced further benefits, reduced energy tariffs and incentivised investment," he said. 

The government would next be tackling the country's infrastructural deficit, already underway with the government's decision to switch to gas for energy production and its active labour market policies. 

"I will not let anyone jeapordise the economic success we have achieved and play with the future of the every man and woman in this country," Muscat said.

Finance minister Edward Scicluna said the government had always been committed to living within its means and had managed to ensure that the difference in expenditure over previous years was less than the difference in income. 

"At the same time, we have also managed to reduce national debt to under 60%," he said. "We focused on sustainable economic growth from the get-go and that was the basis of our economic success."

Scicluna recalled that Malta had registered the second largest economic growth in the European Union, after the Netherlands, but also had the largest increase in job creation registered.