Deliverables and kite flying

I like the idea of pre-budget consultation documents. But only so long as they are for real and not meant as flimsy kite flying exercises. And that they do not get shot down by the very same government proposing them even before public feedback or dissent manages to gain ground. This year a number of proposals were effectively shot down in this manner almost from the word go – by its same proponents.

There have been instances in the past where we were promised budgets of sustainable development only to find out that the budget that materialised hardly had any sustainable development measures or proposals at all.

This year the main thrust seems to be on the shift towards a green economy, but only time will tell whether it will be a mere case of lip service. Particularly when other countries have already made great strides forward in this direction while others have even quantified their job creation targets in this area. We should find out shortly about the road map ahead.

There is no doubt that even this year government might take on board a couple of electoral promises.

The main problem is whether it will implement them throughout the forthcoming financial year. Even more so since a quick glance at Budget 2010, which should run its term shortly contains a number of specific budgetary measures that were not only glossed over by the government but also ignored completely and, even worse, not implemented so far.

Examples include: the actual implementation of the eco-Gozo project (the budget spoke of a commitment of circa €25m over a three-year period but it is still not yet clear which purely environmental, ecological and/or alternative energy projects have been identified within this context); the enhancement of government measures conducive towards more transparency and accoun­tability; and the establishment of a €10m micro-credit fund offering a maximum of €25,000 per enterprise to around 1,500 small businesses and self- employed (while many try to give the impression that the delay was due to the bureaucracy of sourcing EU funding, sources close to the Finance Ministry reveal that the problem is mainly budgetary).

We were also promised a law to safeguard the interests of the self-employed; the beginning of a formal consultation process to establish which government departments and entities will need to adjust their working hours in order to meet the needs of the business community; and the establishment of a national investment fund to serve as a vehicle for the funding of long-term strategic projects such as the regeneration project at City Gate.

Although there has been talk of preparatory work, the promised Park and Ride projects at Marsa and Pembroke have not yet materialised.

What I find most worrying, however, is that although we were promised work would begin this year on the interconnector with Sicily, it is still not clear whether the negotiation process with the preferred bidders has been concluded, as well as by when the contract will be signed.

Nor have we been reassured that the projected EU funding is not at risk due to inherent delays.

In addition to this, where is the creative economy we were promised? Why has the waiting list problem still not been resolved?

If government is finding it so hard to even implement measures that it has committed itself to carry out during the current financial year, what point is there in having kite flying exercises that risk leading nowhere. Even more so in view of the dead-end many prior pre-budget consultation documents ended up in.

Nevertheless, there is one particular electoral pledge I am convinced the government will implement: that is the reduction of the income tax burden.

I bet this will be left till the very end of this legislature, as one of the cherries on the cake of its last pre-electoral budget, come the autumn of 2012.

Does one have to be a rocket scientist to make such a prediction? May time prove me wrong.

Mr Brincat is Labour spokesman for Environment, Sustainable Development and Climate Change.