The significance of Budget 2022 can be grasped by looking at 5 different indicators and comparing the figures for 2022 with those of 2021 and 2012.
In 2022 Government will invest €366.5 million in education. This is 18% more than in 2021 and implies that public investment in education is now nearly two and a half times what it used to be in 2012. This sustained enhancement of education resources was the prime reason why our public schools could remain open during the pandemic, when those of other countries had to stop, thus denying a generation of students of several months of education.
In 2022, Government will invest €366.5 million in education. 18% more than in 2021 and two and a half times more than in 2012.
Even more impressive is the expansion in Government investment in health. In 2022 Government will invest €897.3 million in public health. This is 18% more than in 2021 and implies that public investment in health is now nearly three times what it used to be in 2012. This extraordinary strengthening of resources for our health sector are the main reason why our country was able to withstand the existential challenge of the pandemic, while continuing to deliver health services of an excellent standard. In other countries, financially stressed health systems not just failed to counter the pandemic as comprehensively but also denied citizens of standard health treatments.
In 2022 Government will invest €897.3 million in public health. 18% more than in 2021 and nearly three times more than in 2012.
Another area where the Labour administration excelled was in the provision of social security benefits. These now exceed €1.2 billion, when back in 2012 they amounted to just three quarters of a billion euro. This expansion occurred despite that the number of those dependent on social assistance and on unemployment benefits has plummeted as employment rates have reached record levels. While the number of beneficiaries fell, this administration increased the generosity of benefits very significantly.
While investing in education, health and social security, Labour administrations also carried out unprecedented investments in the country’s infrastructure. In 2022 Government’s capital projects will total €930.9 million. This is 16% more than in 2021 and implies that investment in the country’s infrastructure is now nearly two and a half times what it was in 2012. After years of austerity which left the country’s infrastructure become a liability and a burden for the country, Labour’s strong investment drive is reinvigorating the foundations of the Maltese economy and improving our country’s long-term prospects greatly.
In 2022 Government’s capital projects will total €930.9 million. 16% more than in 2021 and nearly two and a half times more than in 2012.
Finally, the success of Labour’s handling of public finances can be grasped from the fact that despite that investment outlays have more than doubled and nearly tripled in some areas, the public debt ratio next year will stand at 61.8% of GDP, only marginally up from 61.3% this year. Furthermore, it is significantly lower than the 65.9% debt burden left by the last conservative administration.
The current administration has been able to significantly increase the resources of key sectors while at the same time incurring a smaller debt burden. This because its policies have boosted economic growth making these investments self-sustaining and creating a virtual cycle of ever-increasing prosperity.
Conservative administrations wedded to austerity politics starved the economy from key resources, leading to even more financial stringency and a vicious cycle of under-performance.
