Prime Minister Joseph Muscat today urged people to judge the government on the decisions it takes when it comes to high rise buildings, and not merely on the basis of the development applications being submitted.

“We are judged on applications and not decisions. In a democracy you cannot stop people submitting these applications, judge us on decisions not applications… A lot of the criticism is not about the decisions but about the applications being made,” Dr Muscat said.

The Times of Malta over the past weeks reported plans for a number of high-rise developments in the St Julian’s and Sliema areas, raising concerns about the infrastructural pressures these would put on the localities.

Dr Muscat said any development needed to take place in a coordinate manner in line with the Planning Authority’s strategic plan for the environment and development.

He also said it was sensible that developers were considering high-rise buildings.

Turning to the poverty problem, Dr Muscat said Malta’s strong economic growth would help the government ensure everyone received a share of the wealth being created.

He said a strong economy was a necessary base for guaranteeing social justice.

Dr Muscat said a recent report by Caritas noted how the government’s initiative to reduce school uniform prices had helped low-income families.

The Prime Minister acknowledged that food and rent prices were still “problematic”.

“We need to be positive and show people we know what their problems are and that we are ready to find solutions”, Dr Muscat said.

The Prime Minister expressed his disappointment that while Malta had some of the strongest economic growth in Malta, a recent doing business report identified bureaucracy as being a major stumbling block when it came to opening up a company in Malta.

He said civil service heads this week signed an agreement in which they committed to reduce bureaucracy.

On the Labour Party’s deputy leadership race, Dr Muscat had praise for all three candidates, who he said worked tirelessly for the party and government.

While stressing that internal criticism was crucial, Dr Muscat said the party should not go into a siege mentality.

“We want to build bridges not walls with society,” he said.

He took solace in recent opinion polls and said that considering the “enormous attack” that the party had been under, these showed how the Labour movement was still strong and moving forward.