[attach id=383806 size="medium"]Graphic: Times of Malta Studio[/attach]
Just four of the government’s 14 ministries have gobbled up nearly 80 per cent of Monday’s Budget of almost €4 billion.
The finance, health, family and education ministries will collectively receive €3.3 billion, or 79 per cent of the total financial allocation, leaving €878 million to be split among the remaining 11 ministries.
Family Minister Michael Farrugia has been given the lion’s share of the funds, taking up just shy of a third of the government’s funds. However, nearly €1 billion of Dr Farrugia’s €1.2 billion allotment will be dished out through numerous social benefits.
Finance Minister Edward Scicluna has set aside nearly a quarter of the government Budget for his own ministry, sitting on a cool €957 million. Two-thirds of this will be used to pay interest on the money the government has borrowed to finance the running of the country. This year, Malta will pay out about €694 million in what is referred to as public debt servicing.
To put the figure into perspective, the Tourism Ministry, responsible for one of the island’s main industries, has been allocated €49.6 million, or six per cent of the interest the government will pay on the money it borrowed over the years.
Prof. Scicluna has set aside nearly a quarter of the Budget for his own ministry
Next is Health and Energy Minister Konrad Mizzi who has been given 13.6 per cent of the 2015 funds. Dr Mizzi has been given more than half a billion euros, 80 per cent of which will be spent on financing the country’s free healthcare services.
Free healthcare costs the taxpayer €414 million. Payments for energy and water conservation will amount to €63 million, €5 million of which will go towards street lighting.
Evarist Bartolo’s Education Ministry has been allocated 11 per cent of the Budget funds, amounting to €476 million. A quarter of his kitty will go towards financing the University of Malta (€63 million), Mcast (€21 million) and Junior College (€9 million). The controversial stipend system will cost the taxpayer about €24 million, nearly €1 million more than it did in 2013.
Although not one of the top spenders, Joe Mizzi’s Transport Ministry has been allotted the largest capital fund, adding up to €90 million. Some €10 million will go into road works, plus another €27 million that are being accessed through a number of EU funding programmes.
The ‘cheapest’ ministry to run is Helena Dalli’s Social Dialogue Ministry, receiving 0.3 per cent of the Budget funds.