Prime Minister Joseph Muscat told Parliament yesterday that a call for expressions of interest for land reclamation, new casinos and the Marsa Shipbuilding project would soon be launched.
The Cabinet was on target in launching initiatives and programmes to kick-start the economy and the Government should be judged by results.
Dr Muscat was replying to criticism by Opposition Leader Simon Busuttil when closing the debate on a motion on the reply to the President’s Speech.
He said the Government had found a stagnant economy. It had revised Mepa tariffs and approved a policy for the construction of two more floors on existing hotels.
The Government launched the global residence scheme with developers remarking that they were being given the tools to give a new life to the property market.
The Government had found a stagnant economy
For the first time, incentives were being given to promote the potential of the market in Gozo and the south of Malta.
Dr Muscat said the Nationalist Government’s revised scheme was a total failure with only six applications, out of which only two had been approved.
He said the Standing Orders would be amended so that MPs could participate in the decision-making process with appointments as chairpersons of government organisations and authorities. This was not a new practice because at least two Opposition MPs had been appointed chairpersons on government boards. The Government had extended this participation to the Opposition but, at this point in time, it had chosen not to take part.
This was a better way of using MPs’ services rather than appointing parliamentary assistants whose roles had not been clearly defined.
Dr Muscat criticised the Leader of the Opposition for failing to mention the Government’s commitment to allocate a number of parliamentary sittings whereby the Opposition could set the agenda without removing the right of presenting Private Members’ Bills. This showed the Government’s respect towards Parliament.
On government appointments, the Prime Minister said that several people, including ambassadors, the Children’s Commissioner, who was a former Nationalist MP, and permanent representatives had been retained after the election.
The practice of appointing an Acting President from the Opposition side had also been kept. The Auditor General and his deputy were reconfirmed.
He mentioned the people appointed to give advice to the Government on the crucial court reforms, adding that never before had the new PBS board reflected such a wide participation. This board had previously been an absolute government dominion.
Dr Muscat said that two persons on the PN committee to supervise its finances had formerly served as chairpersons of Malta Enterprise, Air Malta, Transport Malta and the Freeport.
He condemned the orchestrated attack by the Opposition media on the President of Malta and the Community Chest Fund.
He said he was disgusted with a photo his wife had shown him depicting the poor quality of food that some patients had been given at San Vincent de Paul Residence.
He said the previous government had given transfers days before the election to accommodate 13 people from different ministries by sending them to the Malta Sports Council. People had also been employed on contracts on the eve of the election.
The Prime Minister invited the Opposition for talks on a revised code of ethics.
Concluding, Dr Muscat said the Opposition had no grounds to criticise the Government on the excessive deficit procedure because this referred to the last year of the Nationalist Administration, which had led to Malta being placed under such a procedure twice before.
The motion was approved without a vote being taken.