The Budget for 2016 would focus on upgrading Malta’s “inadequate” infrastructure, especially in tourism, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said.

Although he did not refer to chaotic situation on Malta’s gridlocked roads after the rain,   he said upgrading the country’s infrastructure was proving to be one of the government’s biggest challenges.

Dr Muscat acknowledged the infrastructure was unable to cater for the Maltese people and tourists.

“Malta has an infrastructural system that was built to cater for 400,000 people but, with 250,000 tourists in August, for example, this means there are some 600,000 or 700,000 people in the country at any given time. The infrastructure cannot cater for this amount and is inadequate and needs to be upgraded,” he said.

He said the Budget would also focus on improving cleanliness across the board as well as the general upkeep of public places.

At the same time, it would also maintain the country’s economic growth and low unemployment levels. Dr Muscat said parts of the Opposition’s pre-Budget document were “laughable”, although there were some points which merited reflection. “Had it been presented by a Form 3 student, he would have failed,” he said, pointing out that 15 of 25 tables in the document were incorrect.

Referring to the PN’s call for debate on the introduction of second pillar pensions, he said the government did not want to raise social security contributions for workers and employers, as such a measure implied.

The government also disagreed with PN proposals that would see energy tariffs fluctuate according to market movements.

Furthermore, he warned, the proposal to give value to ODZ land would fuel speculation.

He also shot down the PN’s proposal for providing school lunches to the most vulnerable, comparing the idea to the wartime Victory Kitchen. He said the initiative would introduce stigmas at a tender age and could lead to bullying.

Turning his attention to migration, Dr Muscat insisted that, notwithstanding his call for the burden-sharing principle to be extended worldwide, he was against a “free-for-all” movement.

Dr Muscat said that although Malta had received fewer migrants than in previous years, this did not mean it should not call for European solidarity.

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