Government finances 'not sustainable'

Figures for the first half of the year confirm that despite the government's bragging, the country's financial situation was not sustainable, Labour's deputy leader Charles Mangion said yesterday.

Dr Mangion said the increase in government's revenue was largely derived from efforts to collect moneys due from national insurance contributions.

He said it was worrying that Malta had the highest increase in unemployment among all EU member states over the last 12 months. This meant the government's income from national insurance was bound to drop gradually. For the system to be sustainable the number of people in employment had to be on the rise and not declining, he insisted.

Moreover, the current account situation indicated that the importation of goods and services was increasing while exports were going down.

This, he continued, was the result of the negative situation in tourism and the unstable situation in the export sector, adding that the services sector was not necessarily compensating for this decline in Malta's biggest economic sectors.