Updated 3.37pm - Added PM's comments
Malta registered a general government surplus of €101 million in 2016, new figures from the National Statistics Office show.
The €101 million figure, equivalent to one per cent of Malta's GDP, is separate to the €8.9m consolidated fund surplus announced last month and includes funds from the Malta's cash-for-passports scheme, among others.
Income from the scheme was a major contributor to the €179.2m surplus registered by extra-budgetary units throughout 2016. NSO data shows that €163.5m of that figure came from the setting up of the National Development and Social Fund, which receives 70 per cent of its contributions from Malta's Individual Investor Programme.
The figures show that extra-budgetary unit income rose dramatically over the year, from €1.9 million in the second quarter to €111.9 million in quarter three and €62.5m in the final quarter of the year.
Time-adjusted cash transactions also boosted government coffers to the tune of €4.8 million. On the other hand, the main negative adjustments to the consolidated fund included the ‘other accounts receivable and payable’ (€33.5 million), the treasury clearance fund (€24.4 million) and the equity injection to Air Malta (€12.0 million).
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In 2015, the general government had registered a €119.3m deficit. Five years ago, the government deficit stood at €260.5 million, NSO statistics showed, with the consolidated fund €342.3 million in the red at the time.
Q4 of 2016
During the last three months of the previous year, government revenue stood at €1,150.9 million - a marginal €17.8 million decrease when compared to the same period of 2015.
Expenditure also fell by €40.7 million when compared to the same quarter in 2015, reaching €1,027.8 million.
Government debt at the end of December increased by €144.4 million over the same quarter of 2015, reaching €5,766.5 million.
The increase in Central Government debt was underpinned by
a rise in Long-term debt securities of €171.4 million. Likewise, Short-term debt securities increased by €32.0 million. Conversely, Long-term loans and Short-term loans decreased by €53.9 million and €9.5 million respectively, the NSO said.
Government guaranteed debt stood at €1,399 million at the end of December, representing a decrease of €4.9 million when compared to the same period last year.
No coalition can deliver these results - PM
Prime Minister Joseph Muscat welcomed the news and insisted his government’s economic team was the only one capable of delivering budgetary surpluses.
Taking a dig at the political arrangement being proposed by the Nationalist and Democratic parties, Dr Muscat said no coalition could deliver these results.
He said the surplus in general government finances exerted pressure on the administration to maintain annual budgetary surpluses.
He was speaking to journalists, alongside Finance Minister Edward Scicluna, at Auberge de Castille.
Prof. Scicluna said the income from the Individual Investor Programme, known as the cash for passport scheme, ensured the country had a kitty to bank on.
He said none of the funds collected through the scheme, apart from small portion that is accounted for in the annual budget, have yet been spent and they will resurface in the statistics next year as a reserve.