Up to the end of July, the national debt amounted to €8.56 billion. This means an increase of €709.4 million over the same period last year, an increase of nine per cent.

If we look at the same period two years ago, the debt totalled €6.62 billion. This means an increase of 29.2 per cent in two years, or €1.94 billion. If we go back to July 2012, the debt stood at €4.82 billion. This means an increase of 77.7 per cent or €3.74 billion during 2012 – 2022.

It is worth noticing that, at the end of 2021, Malta had the highest deficit among all the member states of the European Union, a deficit of eight per cent.

In September of last year, Finance Minister Clyde Caruana said that COVID had cost the country €1.5 billion in two years. Let us accept what the minister said. Therefore, if one subtracts the cost of the pandemic, one finds that, between the 2012 and 2022, the debt increased by €2.24 billion or 46.5 per cent. This means that, during this period, there was a sharp increase, even after considering the impact of the pandemic.

Between January and July of this year, the government collected more money from taxes, as is expected during a period of high inflation: €634 million from VAT, an increase of €130.99 million or 20.65 per cent more than last year; more than €1 billion in income tax, an increase of €120 million or 11.2 per cent more than last year; and €198 million from licences, taxes and fines, an increase of €7 million or 3.5 per cent more than last year.

Naturally, one wonders where have these €2.24 billion of accumulated debt gone. On what were they spent? How have people benefitted?

For the sake of clarity, I reiterate that, according to the finance minister, this amount is the debt accumulated apart from the effect of the pandemic.

It is pertinent for us to ask these questions.

The government has to live up to its promises to ensure a better quality of life- Jerome Caruana Cilia

Moreover, after years of proceeds from the IIP and subsequent high compliance costs on the country (and a programme which caused chaos in our international standing), what happened to the NDSF (National Development and Social Fund) finances?

It is a real pity that, at a time when the economy improved during the past legislature, the Labour government has squandered so much money. The government did not care less and did not think about hard times ahead. It is crucial to have a buffer which can be used in hard times.

One problem we are facing is that we are not prepared to combat the present crisis. What we have been saying for months and years has become relevant more than ever before.

We are being asked repeatedly to tighten our belts. Obviously, it is important to be careful but the irony is that, while there are some who have to tighten their belts, there are others who continue squandering public funds. Daily, we hear shocking cases of waste, squandering and corruption.

There are those who, like a minister advised, go from place to place to try and save some money, as prices are continuously soaring.

Then, there are those who are getting richer by being given taxpayers’ money.  This is money we can invest in families, workers and small businesses in these difficult circumstances.

These are the funds the minister of finance wants to scrap to the detriment of the weak.

The government has to live up to its promises to ensure a better quality of life rather than pointing fingers and playing the blame game.

Jerome Caruana Cilia is the Nationalist Party’s spokesperson on finance.