The average citizen of goodwill has every reason to be gratified that the prospects for the immediate future of these islands are so promising.
The reputable credit rating agency Standard and Poor’s has not only affirmed Malta’s BBB+/A.2 rating. It confirmed that its outlook on the Maltese economy remained positive.
The agency projected that the Maltese economy would expand by 2.8 per cent annually in real terms between this year and 2018.
It expected budgetary consolidation to continue, bringing net general government debt down to 54 per cent of GDP in 2018 from 57 per cent in 2014.
It went further.
The agency affirmed its belief that Malta’s economic growth would continue to outpace that of the eurozone as a whole.
The motor behind all this was the initiative of the administration which led to the laying of an electricity interconnector cable to Sicily, the building of a liquefied natural gas terminal, a natural gas plant and the conversion of an oil-fired power plant to gas.
This opened up possibilitiesof reducing government debt through economic growth and of higher employment levels.
The government opened up avenues which led to initiative and cooperation with outside interests including China, Arab countries and Serbia, among others, all of which were designed to contribute to increased employment levels and higher earnings.
The challenge for the immediate months is to consolidate and, where possible, to expand and to ascertain that economic growth is felt by all. Malta’s economic sentiment indicator last month stood at 110.9, that is, about 11 per cent above the average.
It was the second highest EST figure among eurozone countries. Viewed against this background, Malta’s economic sinews are stronger than ever before.
The potential is there to be exploited in an atmosphere of national cooperation.
Such cooperation must not be poisoned by political partisanship. Constituted bodies in the business sector could profitably throw their weight behind initiatives designed to put hot-headed party politicians in their place.