Malta spending €500,000 daily on debt servicing

The latest government figures confirmed that Malta is spending €500,000 every day on its debt serving costs, Opposition finance spokesman Charles Mangion said today.

In a statement, he said that the government was failing in its target to reduce its debt, Opposition finance spokesman Charles Mangion said this morning.

He noted in a statement that whereas in the 2010 Budget the governemnt projected an increase of the debt by €241 million, in the first five months of this year, the increase had been of €290 million.

He noted that the deficit had fallen by €6 million during the same five months, but given that the government had had higher revenue from the tax amnesty and it had removed its subsidies on water and electricity and was spending less on medicines, the deficit should have been narrowed by some €60 million.

Dr Mangion said the Prime Minister needed to explain how spending by public authorities had 'exploded' at the same time as these authorities were drastically raising their tariffs..

He said the government's latest figures confirmed that Malta was paying €500,000 per day on debt servicing, with the debt now reaching €4,200 million.