Prime Minister Joseph Muscat told parliament this afternoon that he was proud of the work put in during the last 12 months to reform the energy, lands, planning and civil administration sectors.

Winding up the debate on his ministerial votes, Dr Muscat said Malta was moving from a prehistoric energy system to a most advanced one which would put it on par with other EU countries and in the case of LNG, at the forefront of the sector. 

He “wholeheartedly” thanked Minister Without Portfolio Konrad Mizzi for his contribution in enabling this change to come about.

In a subtle reference to the Opposition walk-out when Dr Mizzi rose to speak, the Prime Minister said that “it was futile to act like little children and shut your ears, because ultimately the voice of truth was louder than any other noise distraction”.

He said that in planning, Malta was moving towards a mammoth change which would give greater strength to the environment and a faster decision-making process.

Dr Muscat said he was proud of the Paceville Masterplan. Even if it had shortcomings, the government would listen and, where needed, change for the better.

The Prime Minister said he was also proud for what has been achieved in the civil service. By 2014, Malta had climbed four places in the “Ease of Doing Business Report” and the position would be better still next year, because the time to set up a business in Malta has been drastically cut from a month to a week. Part of this reform was the doing away with trading

Part of this reform involved doing away with trading licences, which meant that 3,000 businesses saved between €70 and €1,000 a year.