“This project will not only decrease pollution, but the reprofiling and landscaping of this landfill will also improve the natural surroundings, providing the community with a natural park with an area equivalent to nine times the size of the National Stadium shall be embellished,” the environment minister said.

Approximately 45,000 mature trees and indigenous shrubs will be planted on this site, the minister promised according to the press statement published by the DOI. 

Parliamentary Secretary for European Funds and Social Dialogue Aaron Farrugia said that the rehabilitation of this valley will protect the environment while giving back a “unique scenery” to the public. The site covers an area of around 95,000 sqm and it is estimated that over its operating period some 1.85 million metric tonnes of waste had been deposited there, however, no formal records exist in related to this matter.

Wasteserv Malta added it has intervened in order to curtail any further spillage of waste into the sea and restrict other pollutants through the implementation of an intensive restoration strategy. “This rehabilitation, apart from visually integrating the landfill with the surrounding landscape, will reduce rainfall infiltration to minimise leachate productions which would otherwise have a consequential impact on groundwater quality,” said  Tonio Montebello, the Chief Executive Officer of Wasteserv. 

The post Wied Fulija rehabilitation to turn landfill to park first appeared on The Malta Business Weekly.

The MoU discusses the strategic themes of the National Digital Strategy 2014-2020 of Malta, which aims to increase awareness of the latest technologies, implement the pilot projects of these technologies with a commitment to realise at least one pilot/proof of concept on IoT and enhance digital literacy among the Maltese population.

On the one hand, Vodafone will be assisting with the transfer of international expertise and know-how. The company will also provide internship opportunities for students and startups.

“This MoU, therefore, cements our commitment toward driving innovation in Malta by leveraging on our international expertise and resources, and stands testament to our commitment to playing a strategic role in being part of Malta’s national digital and innovation strategy,” said Sonia Hernandez, Vodafone Malta CEO.

“I would also like to see more of Vodafone Malta as a house of talent, with more inflow and outflow of talent coming to Malta to learn and experiment, and also to take Maltese talent abroad,” said Serpil Timuray, Vodafone Europe Cluster CEO.

On the other hand, the government will assist with the promotion of training programmes among public sector employees, in addition to upgrading educational content to reflect more current technologies, the press statement says. 

In addition, the government will carry out digital promotional activities, as well as assist with the organisation of awareness campaigns and training programmes for the benefit of citizens and the business community. The government says it will also help identify business areas and use cases within the government where emerging technologies may be piloted, according to the press release. 

“Smart parking in Luqa will be the first such project, which will seek to improve energy efficiency in transport, improve travel awareness among road users, as well as reduce journey times,” said Parliamentary Secretary for Financial Services, Digital Economy and Innovation Silvio Schembri. “The installation of sensors in parking spaces will be connected to an app and will be accessible for everyone through their phones,” he added

“Vodafone is the ideal partner to launch such ambitious plans with. The company thrives to bring its customers the best possible services. This MOU is not just about pilot projects, but also about increasing awareness of disruptive technologies. This country prides itself on embracing innovation,” added Prime Minister Joseph Muscat. 

The post Vodafone Malta vows to promote latest technologies first appeared on The Malta Business Weekly.

The primary reason for the revenue increase was a €90.9m rise in income tax.

Moreover, growth was registered under value-added tax (€56.9m), social security (€47m), grants (€44.3m), licences, taxes and fines (€15.7m), rents (€10.1m), customs and excise duties (€7.3m), miscellaneous receipts (€6.8m), fees of office (€3.6m) and reimbursements (€3.5m).

Nevertheless, drops in outlay were recorded under dividends on investment (€11.9m) and the Central Bank of Malta (€8m).

The main contributor to the expenditure increase was a €141.3m rise in programmes and initiatives. Furthermore, rises in outlay were also registered by personal emoluments (€34.6m), contributions to government entities (€21.1m) and operational and maintenance expenses (€13.4m).

The main developments in the programmes and initiatives category involved added outlays due to European Union own resources (€29.2m), state contribution (€18.3m that also features as revenue), extension of school transport network (€16.2m), social security benefits (€15m), contingency reserve (€12.9m), tax relief measures (€11.5m), medicines and surgical materials (€9.5m), cancer treatment, landscaping — Malta (both €6.8m), ex gratia payment — motor vehicles (€4.9m), childcare for all (€3.5m), solid waste management strategy (€3.4m), residential care in private homes (€3.3m) and feed-in tariff (€2.5m).

The interest component of the public debt servicing costs amounted to €94.2m in H1, some €6.7m lower than the same period in 2018.

In addition, the government’s capital expenditure registered an increase of €76.8m from the same period last year and added up to €219.5m.

The rise in outlay was due to increased outlay reported on road construction and improvements (€22.2m), EU internal security fund borders and visa (€14.6m), EU cohesion fund 2014-2020 (€14.2m), EU structural funds 2014-2020 (€13.3m), and investment incentives (€10.7m).

The government deficit of €156.2m, as reported in the Government’s Consolidated Fund by the end of June 2019, increased as compared to a deficit of €141.9 million in the same period in 2018. The main reason for the deficit is the difference between total revenue and expenditure was a higher reported increase in total expenditure in comparison to recurrent revenue.

Moreover, the government’s debt was caused by the result of an increase reported under the 62+ Malta Government Savings Bond (€98.3m) and also euro coins issued in the name of the treasury rose by €5.5m.

Finally, further decreases were recorded under Malta Government Stocks (€86.9m), Treasury Bills (€2.2m) and Foreign Loans (€0.2m). Higher holdings by government funds in Malta Government Stocks also resulted in a decrease in debt of €13.9 million.

The full report including charts and visual representation of data is available for download at the website of NSO.

The post Maltese government deficit slightly grows to €156.2m in H1 first appeared on The Malta Business Weekly.

The Ministry of Education has awarded Melita with a contract to connect all government-owned education institutions with dedicated fibre as part of a managed network. Melita expects the upgrade — covering more than 100 institutions — to future-proof Malta’s public schools, enabling them to leverage current and new digital technologies by removing bottlenecks associated with bandwidth, according to a press statement sent to Business Malta.

The contract award follows a public call to telecommunications operators issued last year which was won by Melita. More than half the schools will be connected as from the beginning of 2019-2020 academic year, with the rest of the schools being enabled by January 2020.

Melita CEO Mr Rösch tagged the day as an important one for Melita for being chosen as the service provider for supporting more than a hundred schools. “It is not only an investment in the infrastructure but also an investment in the future of the country,” Mr Rösch said.

“This project is important for Melita, not because of its scale but most importantly because of the impact, it will have on our children’s education. The new network will, in fact, allow the technology team within the Ministry of Education to manage and deliver services to all sites seamlessly and more efficiently, helping to make both teaching and learning more engaging and rewarding. As a forward-looking organisation which takes inspiration from the needs of our customers to invest in the right infrastructure to connect them to the services they need, being awarded this contract is very satisfying,” Mr Rösch added.

“As a small island in the big world, connectivity has always been crucial,” education minister Evarist Bartolo said. The minister also elaborated on the fact that traditionally speaking, maritime and aerospace connectivity has been important for Malta, being an island. However, as today sees immense digitalisation activities, internet connectivity is becoming more important than ever.

The minister also said that his ministry looks forward to further collaboration with Melita to enhance connectivity for both education and employment.

EDITORIAL NOTE: Business Malta’s morning report from the event has been updated with further details carried by the official press release issued in the afternoon. The cover picture of the article has also been changed to a photo of the Melita CEO speaking at the event.

The post Gov’t teams up with Melita on upgrading school connectivity first appeared on The Malta Business Weekly.

“The Kamra also expressed its deep concern for public safety due to conflicts between the Civil Code and the new regulations, and the confusion surrounding the apportionment of responsibilities,” the press statement says. “The Kamra tal-Periti also insisted on the urgency for the setting up of a system of registration of contractors so members of the public, and periti [Maltese word for ] themselves, can begin to regain confidence in the industry,” the statement added.

The association and the government also agreed to hold further meetings to discuss amendments to the new regulations that will be proposed by the Kamra together with its team of legal consultants for Government’s consideration. “The Kamra tal-Periti reiterates its commitment to assist the government in fulfilling its intention to bring about a positive reform of the industry in the interest of public safety,” the press statement notes.

The Kamra tal-Periti press statement raises concerns over Regulation 26 states that “[w]hen before the start of the works, the perit in charge of the project certifies, after giving clear reasons, that the structural interventions will not affect third party property, the provisions of regulations 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 do not apply”.

According to the association, this regulation “implies that if a perit [architect] certifies that no damage will occur to third-parties during works, the entire set of regulations can be circumvented. If damages do occur, the perit [architect] issuing such certification would carry personal criminal and civil responsibility for anything that happens, even when the contractor is at fault.”

The association says that this has put members of the profession under immense pressure to sign such declarations as contractors and developers are incurring extremely high costs due to the effective suspension of works. “The Kamra has received multiple reports from members of the profession who received personal threats as well as threats of crippling and vexatious lawsuits if they do not sign such declarations,” the press statement adds.

After the walls of three buildings collapsed in the past two months in Malta near construction sites, forcing the government to temporarily halt demolition and excavation works, the Kamra called for an extraordinary general meeting. Prior to the EGM the Kamra published its preliminary position, and after the EGM the Kamra pledged commitment to improving the public safety of citizens and urged the government to enter discussions with the association. The Kamra also welcomed the recent listing of licensed masons published on the website of the Building Regulation Office (BRO). The Kamra sent a letter to the minister, asking to clarify a number of points. At the same time, the Kamra also asked for a meeting prior to the publication of the legal notice.

The post Kamra tal-Periti meets gov’t as discussions start first appeared on The Malta Business Weekly.

The LPG vouchers will be granted to car owners and can be used at all authorised AutoLiquigas stations, namely at MIA Service Station in Gudja, J. Micallef Station in Rabat, Wembley Station in Swieqi, VC Station in Għargħur and Santa Maria Station in Mellieħa.

People who are planning to do their car conversion can discuss details, by contacting one of the AutoLiquigas-approved installers namely Acheck Ltd of Mosta, Muscat Motors Ltd of Gżira or Michael Debono Ltd of Żebbuġ,

Once the car is converted, the owner should in contact with Liquigas to set an appointment for the conversion verification and voucher collection. For the verification, the owner needs to present the converted car with the log book and the conversion certificate issued by the installer.

Moreover, Liquigas, together with the Maltese government, is planning to reduce the payback period of the LPG conversion investment by owners and, at the same time, contribute to lower traffic emissions, as the press release says.

“As an active member of WLPGA, Liquigas Malta wants to do its part to help spread the word about the benefits of LPG here in Malta. In the case of AutoLiquigas, this is half the cost of petrol and a safer fuel alternative with fewer emissions than traditional fuels,” Liquigas Chief Executive Roberto Capelluto said. “These benefits are on top of the fact that consumers can get their investment back in less than one year. Then, they can continue to use their cars on the cheaper LPG during the lifetime of that vehicle.”

The post Liquigas offers €200 for LPG car conversion till end-October first appeared on The Malta Business Weekly.

Contributory benefits rose by 3.9% (€29.3m) to €778.9m, while non-contributory benefit outlay dropped by 0.5% (€0.9m) to €186.3m.

“In 2018, the largest cohort of contributory beneficiaries was reported under the two-thirds pension (48,987), which coincidentally also recorded the biggest rise in beneficiaries with 645 more recipients than in 2017,” the NSO report says. Retirement pension, however, saw the highest drop in beneficiaries with 763 fewer people receiving such than a year earlier.

The full report including charts and visual representation of data is available for download at the website of NSO.

The post Malta spends more on social security benefits in 2018 first appeared on The Malta Business Weekly.

In the first two months of the year, recurrent revenue amounted to €689.2m, up by 4.8% (€31.3m), as compared to €657.9m by the end of February a year earlier, NSO figures reveal.

The revenue was chiefly boosted by an increase in the income tax (€21.6m) and social security (€19.5m); while further growth occurred in value-added tax (€7.2m), rents (€2m), and the licences, taxes and fines segment (€0.8m).

Outlay drops occurred in dividends (€4.8m), the Central Bank of Malta (€4m), fees of office (€3.7m), reimbursements and grants (both €2.6m), customs and excise duties (€1.6m) and miscellaneous receipts (€0.5m).

Total expenditure at the end of February was up by a year-on-year 17.7% to €752.1m. Recurrent expenditure stood was up by €73.9m to €650.9m. The increase was chiefly fuelled by a €53.2m rise in programmes and initiatives, followed by personal emoluments (€14.4m), operational and maintenance expenses (€3.4m) and contributions to government entities (€3m).

“The difference between total revenue and expenditure resulted in a deficit of €62.9m being reported in the Government’s Consolidated Fund by the end of February 2019, compared to a surplus of €18.7m during the same period in 2018. The main catalysts in the difference were increased outlays in both recurrent and capital expenditure,” the NSO says in the report.

The full report including charts and visual representation of data is available for download at the website of NSO.

The Maltese government’s consolidated fund registered a deficit of €55m by the end of January, while recurrent revenue rose by year-on-year €19.4m (6.8%) to €302.4m — from January 2018’s €283m —, according to recent figures published by Malta’s National Statistics Office (NSO).

The post Maltese gov’t deficit grows to €62.9m by end-February first appeared on The Malta Business Weekly.

The increase in revenue was primarily the result of a €13.7m rise in social security, the NSO says. Further growth was recorded as follows: income tax (€8.7m), value-added tax (€8.5m), reimbursements (€2.3m), licences, taxes and fines (€2.2m), rents (€2.0m), miscellaneous receipts (€1.8m) and dividends (€0.2m), according to NSO figures. Dropping figures were seen in customs and excise duties (€10.0m), grants (€7.5m), Central Bank of Malta (€2.0m) and fees of office (€0.5m).

Total expenditure stood at €357.4m in January 2019, growing by year-on-year 20.7%. The interest component of the public debt servicing costs amounted to €12.9m, dropping by €5.m from the previous year’s €18.3m.

The full report including charts and visual representation of data is available for download at the website of NSO.

The post Maltese gov’t deficit comes to €55m in January first appeared on The Malta Business Weekly.

The issue is as follows:

• (i) 1.4% Malta Government Stock 2024 (III) Fungibility Issue, and
• (ii) 1.85% Malta Government Stock 2029 (III) Fungibility Issue, or
• (iii) any combination of the above two Stocks which shall in the aggregate be €50,000,000.

“Applications in the form of sealed bids (auction) for a minimum of € 500,000 and multiples of €100,000 each open on 27 February 2019 at 8.30 a.m. and close at noon (CET) of the same day or earlier at the discretion of the Accountant General,” the DOI press statement says.

Bids on the prescribed forms are to be transmitted by e-mail at the e-mail addresses indicated on the application form or by fax on +356 2596 7210 or deposited in the Treasury’s Tender Box in Floriana, the DOI statement adds.

The allotment results of each Stock will be determined and announced two hours immediately after the closing time of the auction. Application forms may be obtained from all members of the Malta Stock Exchange and other authorised Investment Service Providers or downloaded from the Treasury’s website.

More information on the stocks can be found in the Offering Circular which together with the General Prospectus and Malta Government Stocks Regulations can be downloaded from the Treasury’s website.

The post Malta’s Accountant General announces issuing €50m gov’t stock first appeared on The Malta Business Weekly.