Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said this evening that he was confident that official figures, due in the coming days, would show that the government had kept its promise to reduce the deficit to 2.1 per cent last year.

Speaking in parliament at the end of the Budget Measures Implementation Bill, Dr Muscat said the government was gradually reducing the deficit. The debt as a percentage of GDP was also being reduced.

This government, he said, had surprised everyone in the last Budget by introducing measures normally taken just before the elections.

Among them was the reduction in electricity and water tariffs, a process which would continue at the end of this month when tariffs for businesses would be reduced by 25%.

The government's 'can do' attitude had boosted the economy and brought about results which the people were feeling. 

The government was partnering the private sector in the problematic areas of energy and health.

The private sector was the key to economic growth and there were many other areas which could be transformed from problems to opportunities if they were made attractive for the private sector, Dr Muscat said.

The only way how the government could really invest in the infrastructure, physical and social, was to use new financial tools, as allowed by the European Union.

The message in the Budget was that the government was open for partnership with the private sector, and it was proud to be doing so, Dr Muscat said. 

He said the government had noted points made by the Opposition and also had meetings with the Opposition with a view to tweaking some of the Budget measures in the interests of society.