The Budget will be a realistic one without surprises that would continue to implement the government’s mandate, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said.

Speaking during a recorded interview on One TV, Dr Muscat said that the government had already implemented more than half of its electoral programme, which was its five-year business plan.

The economy had grown a lot but reins had to continue to be held because one had to think about the bad times when times were good.

“The sun is shining economically but we have to think about when the rain comes,” he said.

Dr Muscat said the Budget would look at the economy in a realistic manner and continue to incentivise it.

He spoke of the need to improve the country’s infrastructure which dated to the 1970s.

One had to remember, he said, that this was not a country of 400,000 people but of an average of 600,000 each month considering the influx of tourists.

The first six star hotel was to open soon and there were two to three projects at that level. Investors were willing to invest millions to give a good product but one could not have a six-star hotel with three-star surroundings.

This was a priority the next Budget had to address. A way of upgrading the country had to be found together with a new system that would bring about more cleanliness.

The Prime Minister spoke about the successes achieved by his government in the employment sector but said more needed to be done as there were still people who earned just the minimum wage or slightly more.

Abuse, including of migrant workers, had to be tackled as the rights of both Maltese and foreign workers were being undermined.

The government, he said, would be proposing a structure to enable people who wanted to employ foreign workers for a short period of time to get a permit to do so. This would regularise the system.

“This is a courageous decision. People will complain that we are letting migrants work… But we cannot have a situation where Marsa has become like a sort a slave market to continue. The reform would be matched by fines for abusers and increased enforcement.