Government failing to reach targets - PL

The fact that the European Commission triggered excessive deficit procedures against Malta proved the Labour Party right in its claim that the government was failing in reaching self-established targets, PL spokesman Charles Mangion said.

In a statement, he said that that in the estimates for 2008, the Nationalist government played with figures to give the impression that the country’s finances were strong and hid important decisions such as the closure of the shipyards and the real financial situation.

In spite of the government’s excuse that the deficit increase was due to a rise in the cost of oil in the summer of 2008 and the closure of the shipyards, the Commission, which had accepted this excuse in March, was no longer accepting it since the deficit had reached 4.7 percent, three times more than what had been forecast by the government. It also refused the government’s forecast for the coming years.

Dr Mangion said that within a year of adopting the euro, the government had breached the Growth and Stability pact which each government adopting the euro had to follow, with the aim of retaining sustainable finances.

He said that in the first two months of this year the deficit was 40 percent more than that of 2008, which was already a record.

The government, Dr Mangion said, should face economic reality because challenges would not disappear on their own.

Each responsible government analysed its country’s situation and embarked on a programme of economic stimulus to face the recession.

The Nationalist government made a lot of promises but it had not yet implemented the capital expenditure promised in the budget for 2009, he said.