Prime Minister Joseph Muscat this morning expressed optimism that state-energy company Enemalta will soon return to profitability, less than three years after its debts had reached €1 billion.
Addressing a political activity in Rabat, Dr Muscat said that his government had managed to do a complete turnaround, to the point that disagreement nowadays was about the reduction in utility tariffs rather than by how much they had to increase.
The Prime Minister remarked that Enemalta’s financial situation was found to be worse than expected when the PL was elected to government in March 2013.
Rather than moan about the situation, the government started working to address it and none of the employees lost their jobs.
“We transformed the company from a loss-making one to one which I trust will soon be profitable while making unprecedented investments in the energy sector,” Dr Muscat said.
A single mistake from our part is likely to be more visible than any other shortcoming from the PN- Joseph Muscat
The Prime Minister recounted that Enemalta’s ailing finances were threatening people’s deposits in local banks due to their large exposure to the company’s debts, which Dr Muscat said was on the brink of a bail-out.
On the other hand he noted how Enemalta was now investing €80 million in Montenegro as part of a consortium, saying that the profits would then be channelled towards further projects in Malta.
Touching on the future of Air Malta, he said this company had huge potential, but accused the last PN government of working to keep it afloat only until the last general election. He thanked former President George Abela for chairing the meetings between the company and the trade unions.
Looking ahead for the second part of Labour’s five-year term in government, the Prime Minister said “this would be even better”. While acknowledging that his government had committed mistakes for which they would be held accountable by the electorate, Dr Muscat said that people expected much higher standards from a Labour government.
“A single mistake from our part is likely to be more visible than any other shortcoming from the PN,” he said while describing his political rivals as still being still stuck in the “mud” after 25 years in power.
He added that the PN had stooped down to the lowest levels due to its “negative” approach and its continuous attempts to score political points at all costs.
Referring to recent criticism from the PN that the government had not given its support to the Aquatic Sports Association following the historic qualification to the national water polo team to ongoing the European Championship, the Prime Minister said that such claims had been denied by the association itself.
“The truth is that the PN have not yet come to terms with the fact that they are now in Opposition,” Dr Muscat said.
Touching on social issues he acknowledged that there were still people below the poverty line who were living in squalid conditions.
“We understand such circumstances and our aim is to support the most vulnerable and create a new middle class,” he said.
“We have the will, strength and courage to do all this,” Dr Muscat added.
Referring to official figures published last week about disabled persons in employment, he expressed hope that a solution for an ongoing dispute between the government and employers would be found soon.
He noted that, up to some years ago, only between 50 and 60 disabled works used to find a job every year, but thanks to the government’s tighter controls to enforce a 1969 law, the number has spiked to 400.