Opposition leader Joseph Muscat said today that various points raised in the Budget speech had still not been explained.

For example, the Budget speech said the government was projecting revenue of €28 million from 'concessions' but no explanation had been given of what these concessions would be. This was unacceptable at a time when there should be budget discipline and transparency.

Would these funds come from a new project, oil drilling, old projects?

Speaking ont he last day of the Budget debate, Dr Muscat said there  were major questions on other financial projections.

The Finance Minister had said there would be a change in the taxation of mobile telephony. The estimates showed that revenue would rise by €700,000. Talks were being held with the operators and they had raised questions on the technical operation of this measure. Would the government explain how this tax would be implemented?

What about the planned oil bunkering tax which was projected to yield €6 million? Some operators were claiming this would drive them out of the market. Some were questioning whether the tax was legal, in that the services were given beyond Maltese waters. Others were saying this went against EU law.

Was this tax legal? Did it respect EU law?

It was being said through the grapevine that this tax would not be brought in. What was the government's latest position? If the tax was to be retained, how would be it collected? If it would be dropped, how would the revenue be replaced?

Dr Muscat said the issue of conforming with EU law was important. There was already a burning issue over whether the bus fares structure was regular - in that a distinction was made between residents and non-residents. Even a Nationalist MEP was saying that the system was discriminatory. Clearly, the government needed to make up its mind, Dr Muscat said.

Another issue was over the budget of the Malta Tourism Authority, with no explanation having been given about a counter-entry of €1 million on eco-contribution. Was this a mistake?

Dr Muscat said he was asking the prime minister to explain how several hyped projects seemed to have disappeared or almost disappeared. Among them was the proposed sports village at White Rocks.

It was well known that there were efforts to conclude talks on the project in the past few weeks. What had happened? Was this project still on? Was the government still of the view that there was no need for a public call for tenders on the allocation of this prime site? Why? Who was heading the talks for the government?

Similarly, nothing was being heard of the planned Corporate Village project at Mriehel. At a time when Malta was suffering a shortage of industrial space, he could not understand, Dr Muscat said, how the large former Dowty factory site was to be taken up by offices. And where would factories be located, in Sliema?

It had been said that Malta Enterprise would move to this village - this on top of the recent expenditure of over €3 million by Malta Enterprise to convert former Nursing School space into its current offices after the move from San Gwann. The ME chairman was being irresponsible and arrogant, Dr Muscat said. This was extravagant spending of public funds which could be better used elsewhere, such as instead of the service charge for the maintenance of industrial estates.

But the chairman was also arrogant in other sectors, such as the way how he had reacted to complaints - about costs and bureaucracy - made by three of the top industry leaders in Malta. When Malta's competitiveness was at stake, the least the government could afford was arrogance.

Dr Muscat observed that nothing was heard of SmartCity during this Budget debate. How could one be so insensitive to the fact that 4,000 promised jobs had not been realised? The least the government could do was to give an assurance or at least an explanation if the project would be realised, how much it would employ, and by when.