The budget showed that the surplus which the government boasted about was not being spent on investment in the country’s future, Opposition leader Adrian Delia said this evening.
Dr Delia made his comments when he was interviewed on the news programme Bejn Tnejn on Net TV.
Dr Delia observed that the surplus was in a declining trend, from 1.1 per cent in 2016, to 0.8 per cent this year and a projected 0.5 per cent next year.
A serious government, he said, would use its surplus to plan for the future. But this was not what the present government was doing.
He had asked over the past few weeks what the surplus was being used for, Dr Delia said. The government had replied that it was being used to pay off the former PN governments’ debt. This was not true. Under the present government alone, the debt had risen by a billion euro.
The government, Dr Delia continued, was showing its lack of long-term planning in every sector. This was most notable in the transport sector, but also in the sustainability of the pensions system.
In the transport sector, the government first said it would rebuild the roads in seven years, spending €700 million, but now it was saying it would set up an agency next year to build the roads, followed by capacity building.
So when would the road-building programme start? And how had the government decided to spend €700 million on the roads when it did not have a transport plan for the future? Would just improving Malta’s current roads solve the transport problem? What would Malta’s needs be in 10 years’ time?
The PN had made concrete long-term proposals before the last general election. But this government was only speaking about what it would do next year. Would there be a metro system, a monorail, incentives for people to keep their cars at home or for people to work from home?
Dr Delia said the government in the Budget also did not recognise the serious problem in the education system caused by the shortage of teachers. The former PN government built a school every year. The present government on Monday spoke of building the same three schools it also mentioned last year.
It was good that the government was giving incentives to those who achieved a masters degree or Ph.d but what about action to reduce the number of early school leavers and those who did not further their education?
Dr Delia said the Opposition would criticise the government, but also help it, as this was a reflection of how the opposition acted in the national interest. The PN would also show the people how they can have a better future, he said.