In our highly polarised political climate it is indeed courageous (some might argue foolish) to praise anything your political opponent does. The occasions when one of the two large political parties gives merit to the other are very rare, and will become rarer still as the general election approaches. This is not so for the Greens. We never shy away from commending the actions or declarations of either Nationalists or Labour, when we agree with them. It is a trait that we, and those who support us, truly value. It is the brand of politics we believe this country so desperately needs.
The consultation initiative that goes with the pre-budget document, now in its third year, is one that AD welcomes, because it introduces more transparency into the budget process and fosters wide public consultation. The fact that the Nationalists also use the consultation exercise as a PR campaign does not bother me, as long as the consultation is genuine. Like we do every year, this year we also prepared a set of proposals for the pre-budget exercise. We even decided to present them to the Prime Minister in person. Why not?
In our proposals (all of which were individually costed) we made several recommendations that include, amongst others, direct assistance to families raising young children; an increase in parental leave; reform in company taxation; assistance to those paying rent or paying home loans; a restructuring of the electricity surcharge; compensation to owners of controlled-rent properties; the lowering of VAT on tourist services to 12 per cent and substantial investment in public transport. Surprisingly the proposal that caught the media’s attention most was the one that recommended to government that public holidays that fall mid-week are to be moved to the subsequent Friday. Were it to be adopted, this proposal would increase the number of long-weekends, and would be beneficial to both employees and employers. The fact that it would cost nothing to government is evident to all. The fact that government has ignored this proposal is capriciously partisan and foolish.
The total cost of all our proposals is Lm30 million. When I told Dr Gonzi this, he said that we were being too optimistic. I told him that his government would have some Lm43 million to spare for next budget. He looked at me, very perplexed. Did he think me mad, or had I exposed the card up his sleeve? I think that it was more of the latter. This is going to be a bonanza budget, even though the pre-budget document does not say so. In fact the pre-budget document says very little, at least in monetary terms. It is a long document (155 pages) that reads like an electoral manifesto. What is disappointing is that it does not commit, in figures, to anything.
Last year government had declared that there would be an additional Lm8 million liri to spend on programmes. That figure, somewhat miraculously, rose to Lm18 million during the budget speech. This year the pre-budget document says nothing whatsoever about the amount of additional funds available. Instead it talks vaguely about a number of policy issues without detailing the cost of any of them.
We are glad to note that two of the policy measures that we have been pushing for a number of years, namely assistance to families raising children and an extension of parental leave, are mentioned. There is mention, but no details, of a revision to the entitlement for children’s allowance, and a miserable extension of parental leave of one week. What we proposed was a special child allowance of Lm160 per child per annum, and a government-funded extension of parental from 13 weeks to 26 weeks. Family policy has to be bold to make a real difference in people’s lives.
The question that nobody has yet asked is why the pre-budget document is being so secretive and so cautious when government will have an additional Lm40 million to dish out at budget time. At this point you may be legitimately asking how I have come up with the figure of Lm40 million. I will explain. Last year with the economic growth at 2.5 per cent, government managed to cough up Lm18 million. One can assume that this year, with economic growth declared to be closer to 3% and government recurrent expenditure under control, at least an equivalent Lm18 million will be available. To this one must add the “saving” that government will be making on not having to fork out another Lm40 million on the hospital. That leaves government with an additional Lm58 million. However one must then deduct the additional cost of running the new hospital – a cost the PM himself has stated will be in the region of Lm15 million per annum.
That should leave government with a bit more than Lm40 million to distribute in mid-October. Mark my words; it will be a bonanza pre-electoral budget.
So with so many cookies in the jar why have we been presented with such a miserly pre-budget document? I suspect that government’s strategy is to play down the public’s expectations now, in order to surprise people when the budget is announced. Once again they have made a mockery of the pre-budget consultation exercise. It was a strategy used in last year’s budget and one that I believe, will be repeated this year. In short Gonzi is bluffing, really bluffing!

 

Edward Fenech is finance and economy spokesperson for Alternattiva Demokratika, the Green Party

Search: MALTATODAY BUSINESSTODAY WEB Archives

---

NEWS | Wednesday, 15 August 2007

Elderly keep PN ahead in Gozo

Santa Marija – the best beaches in Gozo

Bortex will not hire Chinese workers

Pöttering stands by refusal to grant MaltaToday access

‘Ghost ship’ drops off immigrants, fishermen claim

Marriage breakdowns up by 162 per cent in ten years

Census shows women more literate than men

The new Maltese – 12,112 foreign nationals granted citizenship

French embassy mum as Libya retains nuclear stockpile

Medical brain drain to UK reaches highest levels

14 migrants’ bodies found