Cabinet members will present their declaration of assets in Parliament by Wednesday, Joseph Muscat has pledged.

Denying some ministers were objecting to revealing all their financial assets, the Prime Minister told Times of Malta there was no issue on the declarations.

Three weeks ago, Dr Muscat had said the declarations were ready and they would be published in a matter of days.

According to the ministerial code of ethics, Cabinet members, including parliamentary secretaries, must file their declarations within two months of their appointment. The deadline elapsed in May.

The code stipulates that ministers and parliamentary secretaries have to make public all their assets and those of their spouses and dependent children, including property and investments.

He declined to specify when the new code will be made

One of Dr Muscat’s first decisions in government was to instruct his permanent secretary to revise the code of ethics published for the first time in 1994 under the second Fenech Adami Administration.

The Prime Minister declined to specify when the new code will be made public, though said it was being prepared.

Meanwhile, during a visit to St Martin’s Institute for Higher Education in Pietà Dr Muscat said it was the Government’s intention to boost the postsecondary and tertiary education sectors in Malta as this offered a great potential for economic growth.

He said he wanted to see more foreign students study Malta and appealed to private institutions to also look to the North African market and not only at China and Asia.

The Prime Minister said the Government was working on a regulatory framework for this sector to ensure Malta’s reputation was safeguarded.

Charles Theuma – owner of St Martin’s – said it was the institute’s intention to keep growing, aiming to reach a thousand students by the end of the decade.