‘More measures to help business will be announced in the coming days’ – Schembri

Further measures will be introduced in the coming days so that businesses are safeguarded, Minister for the Economy and Industry Silvio Schembri told Parliament on Tuesday.

This comes after Prime Minister Robert Abela and Minister for Energy and Enterprises Miriam Dalli announced that support schemes for rent and for electricity bills will be extended into the summer for businesses, while a number of new measures intended to stimulate economic activity as the pandemic wanes are also set to be implemented.

“More measures will be implemented in the coming days and the plan for the next 10 years will also be discussed,” Schembri said.

The Minister remarked that the country is still in a stable condition. “In 2020, deposits in banks increased by €1.2 billion. The message that is being passed on is that our economy is resilient. Savings in our country today add up to €14.5 billion. This country is rich and has resources which it can utilise,” Schembri remarked. 

“We need to incentivise investment. Now is not the moment to look at deficits; now we are helping businesses carrying the burden and helping them to invest,” the Minister said.

He remarked that Malta’s businesses have suffered a blow with the pandemic, but it was mitigated through the government’s intervention. “I think that we have to see this situation in the context of what is happening the world, such as what is happening right now in India,” he said.

This country managed not only to see that health services continue to catch up, but also sought to safeguard businesses, Schembri stated. “We implemented measures of sustainability. They cost a lot of money, but this was the best decision we ever made. The fact that the government has paid millions means that it wants to help businesses by “carrying the burden with them”, he said.

“Reports were saying that we were going to have 50,000 unemployed… we saved 100,000 jobs with it, so we want to continue giving help, like we did today.”