Adrian Delia Calls For Urgent Financial Aid To Businesses Before They Are Forced To Close Down
Opposition leader Adrian Delia has urged the government to provide immediate financial aid to Maltese businesses, particularly small ones, warning some of them could be forced to close down within the coming days.
“Out utmost priority must be safeguarding public health but we must also ensure that we can cope with the incoming economic blow so that when this situation is over we can return to the economy rhythm that Malta enjoyed in recent years,” Delia told a press conference convened to address the situation with regards the COVID-19 coronavirus.
“I urge employers to keep their workers in mind and help out as much as possible but the government must immediately explain how it plans to help them too. Otherwise, as soon as a few days’ time, it will be too late for some of them. Jobs will be lost and businesses will be forced to close down.”
“It’s a shame that the government is still working on a package to help businesses, as declared by [Economy Minister] Silvio Schembri. We require an immediate aid framework.”
Delia said the government wasn’t fully prepared to handle this crisis, warning that some government entities haven’t been informed enough about the situation and aren’t giving enough information to the public.
“Look at the level of information being provided other countries; this information will help people not to panic and businesses to plan better. Ultimately, it is also the transparency that politicians are obliged to display.”
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