Where is the meat?

It was “business as usual”, according to the Malta Employers’ Association, with Budget 2012 covering a wide range of issues but ultimately lacking any substantive initiatives to stimulate economic activity.

MEA director general Joseph Farrugia said while he understood the international context in which it was being presented, the Budget did not propose any bold actions that genuinely addressed the country’s underlying challenges.

Mr Farrugia felt the Budget could have exposed the problems inherent in extensive consultation procedures. “Consultation is a good thing but you ultimately end up trying to please all and sundry,” he said.

The MEA praised the introduction of the bank guarantee scheme on loans to enterprises, the investment in the Bio Malta campus and the incentives to increase female workforce participation, among others. It also felt the new income tax band for parents was a positive development.

The €4.66 weekly cost-of-living-adjustment increase given to all employees was less well-received, with the MEA noting it would have been better had the COLA been related to an enterprise’s financial situation.

While the MEA had no qualms about the expenditure increases in education for the Malta College of Arts, Science and Technology and the University, it insisted these had to be audited and assessed.

“There is a need to re-evaluate the way in which results of such expenditure is assessed to maximise the effectiveness of this important investment,” the MEA said.

The same applied to the €20 million allocated to Air Malta. While the MEA did not object to the money allocated, it felt more work had to be done to ensure the investments were sound.

“We should raise expenditure in education by all means but how much auditing is being done,” Mr Farrugia asked. “The same goes for Air Malta. It’s not about the money itself but what’s being done with it.”