Local councils will be able to partly finance a number of capital projects through funds raised by the citizenship scheme, according to Prime Minister Joseph Muscat.
“This would be a means to accelerate the country’s development from which communities could also benefit,” Dr Muscat said.
He was addressing a Cabinet meeting held at the Imperial Band Club, in Mellieħa, as part of the government’s pledge to be closer to the community, and local councillors from the northern region were invited to submit suggestions.
This was the second time in this legislature that Cabinet has met outside Auberge de Castille in Valletta.
The main hall of the band club which hosted the meeting was elegantly dressed up for the occasion with a backdrop of Maltese and EU flags behind the Prime Minister.
In his opening remarks, Dr Muscat said the government was determined to look at alternative streams of revenue so as not to resort to taxation.
He said the National Fund for Social and Economic Development, sustained by the money raised from the Individual Investor Programme, could help local councils implement certain projects previously considered outside their budget.
One such project mentioned by Mellieħa mayor John Buttigieg during his presentation was a new community centre that would include council offices, an underground car park and an indoor pool.
Mr Buttigieg also suggested that a fraction of the taxes paid by the hotels in the locality would cover some of the council’s recurrent expenditures such as cleansing.
He called on the government to find a long-term solution to the traffic congestion at George Borg Olivier Street.
Dr Muscat acknowledged that the level of cleanliness in tourist zones and popular beaches during the summer months left much to be desired. He promised that the government would step in and shoulder part of the burden.
On the traffic situation, he said the government was planning to issue a White Paper on local enforcement.
The PN said Dr Muscat was promising funds that did not yet exist and it was clear he was trying to buy people in the same way as he was wanted to sell citizenship.
It urged him to focus on attracting tangible investment that created jobs.