The government has exceeded its own debt plans for this year and the next, reaching a figure of €4,815 million, the Labour party has alleged.

Finance spokesman Karmenu Vella said the government’s debt plan for this year was €4,669 million, while that for 2013 was €4,750 million.

But Malta had racked up €4,250 million of debt at the end of last year, which meant an increase of €565 million in 14 months.

Mr Vella was addressing a press conference in reaction to Finance Minister Tonio Fenech’s round-up of the fourth year of the legislature.

He noted that this debt did not include that of state entities such as Enemalta and the Special Purpose Vehicles set up to fund the City Gate project and to restructure the finances of Enemalta.

While the government was boasting that it had kept the deficit figure under the three per cent mark of gross domestic product, in reality the deficit had increased by €200 million, prompting the European Commission to start an excessive deficit procedure against Malta.

Turning to employment, Labour’s spokesman on the economy Charles Mangion said that between 2008 and 2001, 4,000 full-time and 6,000 part-time jobs had actually been created, a far cry from the 20,000 the government had been boasting about.

Industrial productivity shrunk by 11 per cent in 2011, against the one per cent fall in Europe.

In reaction, the Finance Ministry said the country’s finances were stable and this was the result of increased investment and job creation. It said the excessive deficit procedure against Malta had been halted because it had managed to improve its financial situation.

The ministry said the level of debt was far lower than the European average. It noted that the Labour Party had not said how it was planning to reduce the utility tariffs and at the same time bring down the deficit.