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 committee stage in Parliament, merely to adjust administration fees.
“Administration fees are not an exercise in cost recovery. These fees are there so we do not provide services free of charge as this would mean, in economic theory, that there would be infinite demand, which is simply not acceptable. Instead of just agreeing that we could increase them all by 10 per cent – and some of them have been there since 1974 – we debated till 11pm!” he said.
The minister said he was reassured by the growing rate of investment as a percentage of GDP, which he said had fallen to 17.4 per cent from a high of 30 per cent in the 1970s and 1980s, but had finally started to grow again, by 1.4 percentage points last year.
Professional cartels would do anything to obstruct initiatives as the previous government had itself realised
The minister praised the EY initiative, saying it was the first time a private company had commissioned a forecast, adding that this had long been one of his dreams as it provided independent analysis.
During his intervention, Opposition spokesman Claudio Grech gave a fairly positive overview of the way the party saw current economic performance.
“There is a positive economic story to tell. But we cannot be complacent. The country has managed to survive the recession elsewhere by riding on an economic crest – but it now needs to create the conditions for the next crest,” he said.
“The first crest was created by new sectors that we attracted 10-12 years ago. But these are not necessarily the sectors that will create the crest for the next 10-12 years.
“No new sectors are being set up, and without these there will be no new economic growth, which is what is needed to face economic challenges.”
Prof. Scicluna reacted to Mr Grech’s comment about new sectors by referring to the new hospital in Gozo and investment at Smart City, but warned ominously that “professional cartels” would do anything to obstruct these initiatives, as the previous government had itself realised.
Tom Rogers, the senior eurozone economist at Oxford Economics, said one of the factors which could limit Malta’s economic growth was the tight labour market.
“The solution is to improve the labour participation rate [the number of people who work],” he said, noting that in spite of significant improvements over the past years, Malta’s rate was still 10 percentage points below that in northern European countries.
Asked whether the high levels of imported labour in sectors like i-gaming and financial services would reduce this pressure, he warned that Malta could not import labour indefinitely, due to availability of housing and infrastructural concerns.
“This could have a negative impact on the quality of life,” he said.
He said another worrying trend was the drop in fixed investment, which he blamed on difficulty in accessing finance.
Its forecasted GDP growth in Malta will be 2.7 per cent in 2015 and 2.3 per cent in 2016, with unemployment at 5.7 per cent this year. The forecast, done by Oxford Economics on behalf of EY, said it expected the fiscal deficit to narrow to two per cent of GDP.
– Friday, 27th March, 2015
66 responses to “Two-thirds of my time now spent fighting bureaucracy”
mexican rx online
https://cmqpharma.online/# reputable mexican pharmacies online
buying prescription drugs in mexico online
buying from online mexican pharmacy: online mexican pharmacy – buying prescription drugs in mexico
buying from online mexican pharmacy buying prescription drugs in mexico online mexican online pharmacies prescription drugs
mexico pharmacy: mexican rx online – п»їbest mexican online pharmacies
https://canadapharmast.com/# prescription drugs canada buy online
top 10 pharmacies in india india pharmacy п»їlegitimate online pharmacies india
https://canadapharmast.online/# best canadian online pharmacy
my canadian pharmacy review: legitimate canadian pharmacy online – canada cloud pharmacy
medicine in mexico pharmacies buying prescription drugs in mexico online best online pharmacies in mexico
world pharmacy india: top 10 online pharmacy in india – top online pharmacy india
online shopping pharmacy india: top 10 online pharmacy in india – buy prescription drugs from india
best india pharmacy: reputable indian pharmacies – best online pharmacy india
mexican border pharmacies shipping to usa mexico drug stores pharmacies mexico drug stores pharmacies
canadian pharmacies online: canadian drugs – my canadian pharmacy rx
https://canadapharmast.online/# canadian pharmacy no rx needed
top 10 online pharmacy in india: reputable indian pharmacies – world pharmacy india
purple pharmacy mexico price list: mexican mail order pharmacies – mexican rx online
medication from mexico pharmacy purple pharmacy mexico price list mexican mail order pharmacies
https://canadapharmast.online/# my canadian pharmacy
п»їbest mexican online pharmacies: best online pharmacies in mexico – mexican online pharmacies prescription drugs
medication from mexico pharmacy: purple pharmacy mexico price list – purple pharmacy mexico price list
mexican online pharmacies prescription drugs mexican border pharmacies shipping to usa purple pharmacy mexico price list
buying prescription drugs in mexico online: mexican mail order pharmacies – п»їbest mexican online pharmacies
https://foruspharma.com/# reputable mexican pharmacies online
buying from online mexican pharmacy: mexican border pharmacies shipping to usa – mexico pharmacy
canadian pharmacy sarasota canada pharmacy canadian drug pharmacy
canada discount pharmacy: northwest pharmacy canada – pharmacy canadian
legitimate canadian mail order pharmacy: pharmacy rx world canada – canada drug pharmacy
reputable indian pharmacies pharmacy website india pharmacy website india
mexican drugstore online: buying from online mexican pharmacy – mexico pharmacies prescription drugs
https://foruspharma.com/# п»їbest mexican online pharmacies
legit canadian online pharmacy: canada drugs – reliable canadian pharmacy reviews
Online medicine home delivery: indian pharmacy online – top 10 online pharmacy in india
Online medicine home delivery: best online pharmacy india – india online pharmacy
amoxicillin 500mg price: generic amoxicillin cost – where can i buy amoxicillin online
https://doxycyclinedelivery.pro/# doxycycline compare prices
https://paxloviddelivery.pro/# paxlovid india
where can i get cheap clomid: can i buy clomid without insurance – can you buy generic clomid no prescription
http://amoxildelivery.pro/# amoxicillin 500 mg where to buy
http://ciprodelivery.pro/# antibiotics cipro
ciprofloxacin 500mg buy online: antibiotics cipro – buy cipro online usa
paxlovid cost without insurance: paxlovid buy – paxlovid pill
http://amoxildelivery.pro/# purchase amoxicillin online
amoxicillin generic: amoxicillin 500mg no prescription – generic amoxicillin over the counter
http://ciprodelivery.pro/# buy cipro online
http://clomiddelivery.pro/# buy cheap clomid
paxlovid cost without insurance: paxlovid generic – paxlovid for sale
http://clomiddelivery.pro/# how to get generic clomid without prescription
http://doxycyclinedelivery.pro/# doxycycline 50 mg price
doxycycline 100mg capsules price: buy doxycycline online uk – doxycycline 300 mg daily
http://clomiddelivery.pro/# can i buy clomid without rx
order clomid prices: cost generic clomid no prescription – where can i get generic clomid without prescription
http://ciprodelivery.pro/# ciprofloxacin
http://amoxildelivery.pro/# amoxicillin 500 tablet
buy cipro online usa: buy ciprofloxacin – ciprofloxacin generic
https://ciprodelivery.pro/# ciprofloxacin
doxycycline tablets online: doxycycline 631311 – doxycycline pills over the counter
http://paxloviddelivery.pro/# paxlovid generic
https://doxycyclinedelivery.pro/# doxycycline nz cost
cipro online no prescription in the usa: buy cipro – buy cipro cheap
https://ciprodelivery.pro/# buy cipro
buy paxlovid online: paxlovid india – paxlovid generic
paxlovid cost without insurance: Paxlovid buy online – п»їpaxlovid
doxycycline 100mg tablets coupon: doxycycline tablet – cheap doxycycline 100mg
can i buy cheap clomid: can i get clomid – where buy clomid no prescription
doxycycline hyclate 100mg: average cost of doxycycline – doxycycline 300 mg cost