Finance Minister Edward Scicluna said today that Enemalta was withholding €135 million in payments due to the government in excise duties. However  the situation was not worrying as, through the government’s agreement with China, Enemalta would soon be in a position to pay its dues.

Speaking during a meeting of the Malta Council for Economic and Social Development (MCESD) on the situation of public finances, Prof Scicluna said that while until the end of 2012 Enemalta had already accumulated €65 million in debts, this rose to €135 million by April.

The Government’s plan to sell part of Enemalta to China’s Shanghai Electric would save the day for the corporation, the minister said.

DEFICIT NARROWED

Prof Scicluna said that the government has already managed to cut the country’s deficit substantially last year and it was aiming to end 2014 with a deficit of just 2.1 per cent. In order to reach this ambitious target the government had to slash its expenditure this year by €40 million.

During the first three months of this year, the government increased its revenue by €30 million over projections while expenditure increased by €22 million. He said that government salaries only increased by €3 million.