The decision by Malta Enterprise to suspend a €15-million energy grant scheme for businesses is “anti-commercial” and will have an adverse effect on the whole country, the Chamber of Small and Medium Enterprises – GRTU says.
Malta Enterprise temporarily suspended the scheme last week after it discovered that certain quotations submitted by beneficiaries could be “in bad faith”. These were being investigated.
The scheme supported companies investing in energy saving measures and alternative energy sources. About 250 firms had been approved grants that were now on hold.
The GRTU said the scheme generated about 300 projects, at least directly affecting 600 companies between beneficiaries and suppliers and indirectly affecting many more.
In the process, hundreds of green jobs were created and the savings made by the beneficiaries allowed them to generate more jobs, the GRTU said.
The suspension was counterproductive “in the sense that, while it safeguards a relatively small amount of cash, it compromises much larger amounts and benefits”.
It also caused huge difficulties due to cash flow issues as well as loss of confidence in government institutions.
The GRTU said Malta Enterprise must have an idea of which companies were being investigated. This meant they knew which were “presumed innocent”.
“With such information at hand, Malta Enterprise should publish the list of the companies that are ‘presumed innocent’ and revise the suspension to a selective one, allowing ‘presumed innocent’ companies to carry on business as usual,” the GRTU said.