PM focuses on expenditure cuts

Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said yesterday the government was determined to control and cut its spending and to restructure its corporations and agencies.

He was speaking during a meeting with employers' associations at the Nationalist Party headquarters in Pietà.

He said all government authorities and agencies have been told to identify areas where costs can be reduced. In addition, a restructuring programme was in hand in the most important corporations, which in the past had survived on subsidies, and substantial progress has already been registered in this regard, he said.

The meeting, for which the PN candidates for the European Parliament elections were present, was one in a series with various constituted bodies as part of the PN's campaign for the elections.

Dr Gonzi said that the Lm500,000 cut in the Malta Tourism Authority's budget would not affect advertising and marketing but would be deducted from administrative expenditure so that the money saved could be channelled to areas that yielded a return.

He said the party's executive on Thursday approved the PN manifesto for the EP elections.

One of the principles in the manifesto was that any of the PN candidates elected to the European Parliament would support initiatives to liberalise enterprise and measures that gave more space for development of this sector.

These, he said, would have the support of the European People's Party in the EP.

The media were allowed to cover the Prime Minister's introductory address and were asked to leave the hall when the discussion with the employers began.