The government will step up its efforts to ensure that economic growth trickles down to all sectors of society, including those in the middle class still feeling the pinch, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said yesterday.

“Not everyone is reaping the benefits of our economic growth. There are specific sectors of the middle class that are meant to be seeing more of the wealth that is being created,” he said.

“After having focused its attention on the health and energy sectors, the government is set to push for further social reforms.”

He promised that the reforms would reach the weakest members of society.

Speaking during a 20-minute recorded interview on One Radio, as he is currently on an official visit in Serbia and Montenegro, Dr Muscat said the country would soon start feeling the effects of decisions taken by the government as these would start bearing fruit.

He mentioned as examples the lower electricity bills which had now become a reality and the free childcare services, among others.

The tender to regenerate White Rocks would be adjudicated in the coming weeks, he added, while work would start on developing the former shipbuilding site into a maritime hub that would create new jobs.

There are sectors of the middle class that are meant to be seeing more of the wealth being created

More jobs were being created and it had become almost routine for the government to every month make the observation that unemployment was among the lowest ever and among the lowest in the EU.

The last time unemployment was so low was 35 years ago. Fewer than 5,000 were registering for work compared to over 8,000 when the Labour government had taken office in March 2013.

For the first time in 25 years, 12,000 pensioners would be receiving a higher pension following a budgetary measure to increase the minimum pension to €140 per week, he said. Those aged over 75 will receive an extra allowance.

Dr Muscat stressed that the recent reduction of VAT on sports needed to benefit sportsmen and women and should not be retained by the gyms. How was it that some gyms had actually raised prices and the reduced VAT was not passed on?

This was something the competition authorities would be looking into, he said.

Dr Muscat also highlighted other government achievements, saying that the problem of out-of-stock medicines had been solved.

There were no waiting lists for heart operations and lists were being reduced drastically in other areas such as for cataracts and even MRI scans.

The focus was now on orthopaedic operations such as hip and knee replacements.