PN deputy leader Mario De Marco this afternoon appealed to the Government to take note of the various indicators showing an economic downturn and act accordingly.

Referring to the warnings given by the Central Bank Governor earlier this week that the take-up of commercial loans was down for the first time in many years and statistics were showing a significant loss in exports and imports, Dr de Marco said that although the situation was not yet beyond redemption the government should try to come out with innovative ideas to boost the economy.

Dr de Marco said that the economic downturn was already being reflected in an increase in unemployment, which during the past year increased from 6.2 to 6.8 per cent.

“We are not saying that everything is going wrong as the financial services and tourism fortunately still performing well.

“However, this is not enough as we need a diversified economy. Until now we have not seen any government initiative to create new areas of business,” he said.

Dr de Marco also slammed the government over its lack of transparency and said that the public and the opposition had the right to be informed on how taxpayers’ money was being administered.

He said that the government had so far also refused to publish important contracts including the one with Henley and Partner on the cash for citizenship programme and the recent contract on the new power station signed behind closed doors last week.