English Articles

We need to use carrots and sticks

You rounded off your Budget speech by saying it was time to start taking “tough decisions”. However, there was nothing of the sort. Why? Decisions are tough and will be taken now. The government will not shirk its responsibility even though such decisions will have medium- to long-term effects. Some problems have been accumulating over the last two decades, be it waste management, public transport or traffic congestion. However, housing is more ... [+]

Our country’s best days

Now that Government has succeeded in achieving a new level of growth for the Maltese economy while obtaining the desired fiscal position, it can afford to focus more on improving the take-home income of Maltese and Gozitan families. This will ensure that everyone living in our economy is enjoying a ... [+]

Malta Surplus: easy for some, impossible for others

I must admit that the sudden news of a fiscal surplus on the government’s accounts after 35 years of successive deficits has stunned in a big way a small section of the people who still live in the past pre-election foolish illusion that a Labour government would be unable to ... [+]

Indeed, a shocking matter

The recent issue of the alleged shocking €250 million over-spend by the Government for 2016 is an eye-opener to the independent-minded observer of the shabby way important issues are sometimes treated, with hardly any respect to the intelligence of the population at large. Here we have a subject which for any ... [+]

‘You cannot fight the market’

If ever there was a job to which the old saying ‘you can never win’ applies, surely it would have to be the Minister of Finance. Traditionally, as the man who holds the key to the national treasury, he is inundated with pressure from Cabinet colleagues demanding ever-increasing allocations. And ... [+]

The four main areas of poverty and how each budget has tackled them

Finance Minister Edward Scicluna meets with The Malta Independent on Sunday in order to fill us in on what the government’s term plan is and how this budget fits into the grander scheme of things. Professor Scicluna divulged the systematic approach taken by this government to tackle issues in various ... [+]

How Finance Minister Scicluna builds his Budget

Faced with criticism that the middle class was forgotten in the Budget, Finance Minister Edward Scicluna says the exercise is part of a five-year plan and cannot be viewed in isolation. The Labour Party was under pressure by its traditional voters to deliver a more social Budget after three years of wealth generation ... [+]

Looking ahead: Malta’s economic outlook for 2016

A new year is just around the corner and everyone is eager to ensure that the thriving Maltese economy remains on the up. Marie-Claire Grima speaks to two of the most influential figures in the Maltese business landscape to find out more about the nation’s economic prospects for 2016.     As the ... [+]

Opposition has ‘brainwashed’ everyone against €360 million loan guarantee

Finance Minister Edward Scicluna hits out at the Opposition for ‘brainwashing’ people into opposing the €360 million loan guarantee given to a private company tasked with building the new gas-fired power station, Electrogas, in an interview in today’s issue. “This does not mean that there should not be an Opposition – ... [+]

Two-thirds of my time now spent fighting bureaucracy

Finance Minister Edward Scicluna has singled out bureaucracy as a major obstacle to economic growth, saying he spent “at least two-thirds” of his time trying to overcome it. Speaking at the Hilton during a presentation on the EY Eurozone and Malta forecasts, he gave as an example a 10-hour debate at ... [+]