Unsustainable debt

Eddy Privitera’s letter (November 5) makes me think that he didn’t bother to follow the leader of the opposition’s reply in parliament to the budget speech delivered by the finance minister. Probably, he imitated the minister who accused the Nationalist Party that its pre-budget document was awash with Maltese grammar mistakes when it was actually published in English!

Bernard Grech’s speech was the contrary to what Privitera thinks. Grech’s speech was to the point and he managed to demolish the worst political budget speech ever delivered in our parliament.

Instead of writing about opinion polls, Privitera should instead tell his fellow Labourites about the amount the government is going to raise in loans next year. According to the draft estimates, page 7, the figure is €1,600 million in loans, of which €446 million are for stocks that are due for re-issue next year. The problem is that these stocks carried interest rates of 0.30%, 0.50% and 1.40%. Next year, they will be re-issued with an interest rate of 3.50%/4.00%. Or more.

Next year, we will be paying €700 million on public debt servicing, or €26.3 million more than this year. Now, €700 million is about €1,700 in interest for each one of us. Also next year, the government’s debt will rise to €10,372 million, more than double what it was in December 2012 when our national debt stood at €4,649 million. Maltese and Gozitans should know more about this unsustainable debt.

Privitera knows full well that the present administration does not shy away when it comes to spending hundreds of thousands of euros on budget propaganda: coloured leaflets in every household, billboards, full-page adverts in newspapers, newspaper supplements, multitude of spots on social media, etc. For propaganda, money is no problem. Money becomes a problem when spending on education, health, infrastructure... and in solving our traffic problem.

Minister Clyde Caruana was euphoric when he declared 77 per cent implementation rate of the previous budget measures. This was bad but it seems that in the past years of Labour government it was worse.

That’s for Labour’s promises and implementation.

Joseph Zahra – Birżebbuġa

“It’s from Castille…”

Photo: Matthew Mirabelli

The reports of a driving test examiner who testified in court that his boss at Transport Malta would occasionally tell him to let a student learner pass the test as instructed by some minister or Castille brought memories of my time as editor of the Malta News during the 1970s and 1980s.

At that time, I used to receive several phone calls and messages from ministers and their staff asking me to publish reports or statements of interest to their ministry or the public. The same goes for calls and messages I used to receive from the prime minister’s staff at Castille. Once, a top civil servant at Castille, who happened to be a close friend of mine, phoned to say that he was going to send me a report for publication “on instructions from Castille”. I said, no problem.

When I received the report I did not like it at all. I phoned back my friend and told him that I didn’t intend to publish it because I was not at ease with its tone or the message he wanted to convey.

“Joe,” he said, “it’s from Castille.” And I replied: “In that case I will publish it, only if I receive a call direct from Castille.” I never heard from Castille and the report went into my trash bin.

I know from experience over the years that many find it very convenient to use ministers or Castille for their own benefit or gain. So reports such as those mentioned above do not impress me or surprise me at all but I may start to believe them only when they name the source.

Joe Vella – Sliema