VALLETTA, Oct. 30 (Xinhua) — Malta’s Finance Minister Clyde Caruana pledged on Monday to continue subsidizing the prices of electricity and fuels next year.
These subsidies, coupled with the support for cereals, grains and animal feed, will add up to 350 million euros (371 million U.S. dollars).
The government would have spent 931 million euros over a period of three years from 2021 to 2023 to keep energy prices stable, said Caruana.
Announcing the budget for 2024, Caruana unveiled a series of measures aimed at cushioning the impact of the steep cost of living, especially for the more vulnerable groups.
Meanwhile, the minister said that the government was managing to keep public finances in check after being forced to dig deep into its pockets during the pandemic. The national deficit was now shrinking once again.
Malta’s economy is expected to grow by 4.1 percent this year and 4.2 percent in 2024, compared with a GDP growth of 6.9 percent in 2022.
Inflation is expected to decline to 3.7 percent next year from 4.9 percent posted in September 2023. (1 euro= 1.06 U.S. dollar).
