Overpopulation is at the heart of Malta’s crisis - Adrian Delia
'Government did not plan this': PN MP insists his argument is 'based on numbers not nationality'
Overpopulation is the root of the problems facing Malta, Shadow Finance minister Adrian Delia insisted on Friday, pointing out his argument was “based on numbers not nationality”.
He was responding to criticism following his parliamentary speech, in which he described statistics on foreign residents in certain localities as “chilling”.
Delia explained that if Malta’s population had increased by the same amount naturally or through some government scheme, seeing the return of 160,000 Maltese emigrants, “we would still be facing the same problems we are experiencing today”.
“The government did not plan for this major change… and this has led to serious problems that are negatively affecting our quality of life,” he said in a social media post, adding that its “only way to grow the economy was to grow the population”.
The GWU on Friday condemned racism and fear-mongering towards foreign communities, while former prime minister Joseph Muscat asked the PN which non-Maltese they would kick out first.
However, in his post, Delia explained that all the problems facing different aspects of social life can be attributed to overpopulation, from the increase in food prices and inflation, to the strain on the drainage and electricity systems, to traffic problems with most new licenses going to foreigners.
“We must say that the government’s policy of importing foreign workers is congesting our roads. What impact does this have? According to the latest study, a €700 million impact per year.”
He added that while foreign workers “rightly and fairly” are entitled to healthcare in Malta, “the government should have planned for them and provided more beds and facilities.
“Facilities did not expand to meet population growth,” Delia argued.
“Our natural and historical environment is under assault as development races to provide more accommodation for the influx of people arriving here. This is badly affecting the quality of life of residents in Maltese towns and villages, who are living with constant construction noise and watching what little green space we have disappear. Is this right? Is this the legacy we want to leave behind?”
Delia insisted “we are in a vicious circle”.
“For the government to keep up with the debt it is taking on, it will need to bring in more workers. Finance Minister Clyde Caruana, who was one of the architects of this inward labour migration policy, is now saying that it has become a problem - but that we can no longer do without it.”