Good governance, economic growth, education, better infrastructure and becoming carbon neutral by 2050 are the five main pillars of government’s economic policy, Prime Minister Robert Abela said on Tuesday.
Addressing a special session of Cabinet held at the Malta Chamber premises, Abela insisted that quality of life was the ultimate benchmark of any administration.
“It is pointless achieving economic growth unless this translates to a higher quality of life,” the prime minister said.
As for the current economic climate with respect to the COVID-19 pandemic, Abela refuted criticism that the second wave was the result of the government’s decision to relax restrictions prematurely, particularly mass events.
He insisted that such events would have given a much-needed financial injection of €25 million to the Maltese economy. “However, priority was given to people’s health,” the prime minister said. A series of large-scale events and festivals with the involvement of the Malta Tourism Authority have been cancelled.
Speaking on government’s economic vision, Abela said that €2.25 billion secured for the next seven-year EU budget would be crucial. He insisted concrete results on good governance were being seen through a series of historic amendments to implement recommendations on the rule of law made by the Venice Commission.
Photo: Matthew Mirabelli“Corruption is not acceptable, not even in business, as there needs to be a level playing field,” he said adding that Malta’s legal infrastructure was being strengthened to increase transparency, while noting his discretion on certain decisions had been removed.
On economic growth, he remarked this should be sustainable and should allow more quality time with the family. Better air quality, accessibility and more open spaces were crucial, he insisted.
The prime minister said the pandemic presented an opportunity to realign the tourism industry to cater for higher quality visitors and not just attract large numbers.
On education, the prime minister expressed concern that the educational system was failing to provide the upcoming generations with the right mathematic and scientific skills, which would be crucial for the digital economy in the next 25 years.
“Government will work to modernise schools but also overhaul the system itself to make more emphasis on life sciences, robotics and IT,” he said teaching.
The prime minister also touched on the issue of traffic congestion saying it was pointless promoting Malta as a centre of excellence while getting stuck in traffic each morning.
“The moment has come for decisions on innovative mass transportation systems,” he said.
On the environment, the prime minister said government’s long-term objective was to become carbon-neutral by 2050 - meaning no net release of the toxic carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere.
He acknowledged that the pace of environmental measures needed to be speeded up and more incentives rolled out for clean forms of transport and foreign direct investment with no negative environmental impact.
Abela also referred to government’s efforts to increase female representation in decision-making positions and in sectors such as sciences and mathematics.
The meeting was also addressed by the Chamber president David Xuereb who said the government’s economic vision was in synch with the chamber’s.
A presentation of the recommendations launched recently by the chamber’s economic think-tank followed.
The meeting continued behind closed doors.