There were things the government could have done better, Deputy Prime Minister Louis Grech conceded yesterday, but it had so far managed to complete 30 per cent of the work needed to implement the electoral manifesto.
Speaking during yesterday’s public consultation meeting in the series dubbed ‘A Government that Listens’, Mr Grech said it was not an easy process – he referred to the government’s courage to change things as well as to the public’s courage to accept the changes.
The Ministry for European Affairs and Implementation of the Electoral Manifesto, which Mr Grech heads, has set up a unit to which each minister must report regularly about the measures about to be undertaken, the costs and any obstacles encountered.
The government had the courage to change things
He said three main factors attested to the government’s dedication: the drop in the water and electricity tariffs, the deficit reduction to below three per cent and falling taxation.
He said 54 of Labour’s proposals had been fully fulfilled and another 40 were three-quarters there. One third of the 2014 Budget has also been implemented.
Ian Borg, the Parliamentary Secretary for EU Presidency 2017 and EU Funds, said the government welcomed the vote taken by the European Parliament that confirmed an increase of €10 million in EU funding over and above what had been agreed by the previous administration back in February 2013.
Dr Borg also said that in the past few weeks, two projects concerning alternative energy had been approved. The beneficiaries included St Vincent de Paul and the Siġġiewi primary school. Amounting to €6 million, the projects would help increase efficient energy consumption.
The government, Dr Borg continued, was also at an advanced stage in the planning of EU funds covering the 2014-2020 period. He said that if the EU gave its stamp of approval, €200 million would be allocated for the environment, €150 million injected into transport and €60 million into social inclusion. Gozitans would be benefiting from 10 per cent of this financial packet.
He said that, in contrast with the previous administration, the government was aiming to make available the first schemes for industries this year so that new jobs could be created immediately.
“If we were to adopt similar timeframes to previous administrations, we would not be having any new schemes until 2016.”
Asked whether the government planned to set up a scheme similar to the photovoltaic (PV) panel subsidies, which saw the absorption of the allocated €21 million, Dr Borg said it would do its best to redirect any savings from the current programme. The government looked forward to having similar such schemes.