Major capital projects like the Grand Harbour bridge or the proposed sports village for White Rocks should no longer be “monopolised” by ministers, according to Labour leader Joseph Muscat.

We want to attract innovative ideas that will help create jobs

Listing another raft of proposals yesterday, Dr Muscat said a Labour government would issue an open call for ideas on capital projects that would then be prioritised according to the country’s needs. Such calls, he said, would help make a more open government.

“We want to attract innovative ideas that will help create jobs, stimulate economic growth and improve our infrastructure and quality of life,” he said, against a backdrop of the Grand Harbour bridge, which he labelled a “symbol” of the Government’s wrong priorities.

Labour would set up a high-level bipartisan action group made up of experts to advise the Government on how to stimulate economic growth, primarily through the identification of niche areas.

Dr Muscat also pledged to give the economy a boost by cutting bureaucracy by 25 per cent. Admitting it was an “ambitious target”, he said that battling bureaucracy was one of Labour’s main electoral platforms.

Labour would appoint a commissioner to simplify administrative procedures and cut red tape. The commissioner would conduct a review of laws and processes to ensure everything was up to date and consolidated.

Labour would make it easier to set up a business by having a single point of contact for permit applications, where applicants could fill in an all-inclusive form instead of being sent from one department to another. He said this would build on the work by Business First, a government initiative he said failed to resolve the problem completely.

Laws would also keep red tape in mind, Dr Muscat said, promising to adopt a “one in, one out” policy on business-related laws to maintain a low bureaucratic burden.

Labour would also introduce “sunset clauses”, as suggested by the Today Public Policy Institute think-tank. This would give laws an expiry date to ensure constant revision and weed out redundant legislation.

The Finance Ministry reacted, saying it had cut red tape by 16 per cent until 2012, including by the setting up of Business First, which combines over 50 services under one roof.

After detailing his proposals, Dr Muscat paid a visit to pharma­ceutical company Actavis, at the Bulebel industrial estate, where he elaborated on the importance of cutting red tape.

“Manufacturing has a good future in Malta,” Dr Muscat told a large group of employees who welcomed him with applause.

He said Labour’s reduction of energy bills and bureaucracy would help companies like Actavis to keep growing and employing more people.

While financial services and iGaming were important sectors of the economy, manufacturing companies were also crucial because they employed people from every walk of society. Praising the company’s involvement of women, Dr Muscat said Labour would announce a number of “significant” proposals to encourage mothers to get back to work. This was essential to ensure that pensions were sustainable without the need to raise the retirement age beyond 65, he said.

Fielding questions from Actavis employees, Dr Muscat promised to implement the Government’s Budget, “lock, stock and barrel”, except for the tax on single minimum wage earners.

Referring to family-friendly measures and initiatives to boost solar energy, he said all Labour’s proposals would be “over and above” what the Government was suggesting.

The managing director of Actavis, which has been operating from Malta since the 1970s, said the company was investing €13 million in new warehouses.

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