Robert Abela Plans To Reopen Childcare Centres: ‘I Want To Leave The Pandemic Behind Me And Focus On Economic Recovery’
Malta could reopen childcare centres in the near future so as to make it easier for several parents to return to work, Prime Minister Robert Abela has said.
“Just as we showed the world how quickly we emerged from our medical problems, so too will we show the world how quickly we will get our economy up and running again,” Abela said in an interview on ONE TV.
“I want this to be a beautiful period where we will show people that it pays them to invest their money and where we will show how resilient we are, both in terms of health and the economy.”
“I want to leave the pandemic behind me and focus on economic recovery and we are looking at economic stimuli to incentivise people to get out of their homes and spend their money.”
“This is what makes Malta so lovely; that we don’t scare people but rather give them factual positivity and fill them with courage. The same philosophy that guided us so well over the past seven years will guide us into the future.”
Abela said he was delighted to see several people visit restaurants and cafeterias since they were allowed to reopen last Friday, saying he felt “a sense of għall-erwieħ” at seeing Malta start to return to normality.
“I was so proud to see all those restaurants who had the courage to reopen and to see people visit them. There have been several bookings, even for today, but it’s not enough.”
He also said new health protocols for restaurants could well be loosened in the near future if Malta keeps registering positive results in terms of combatting COVID-19.
“If we keep registering positive results, we hope we can relax these protocols so they can go back to business earlier. However, we have breathed life into them and we’re seeing people returning and adapting to this new normality.”
“Whether this new normality will be a transitory period or will last longer is another debate, but what is certain is that people have trust [in the government].”
“We’ve shown from the start that we know what we’re doing and we’ve taken one good decision after another. For every restriction we’ve eased, there’s science backing it up.”
The Prime Minister said the government will keep providing businesses with wage supplements over the coming weeks “until they get back on their feet” but made it clear that the assistance will have to stop someday.
“We’re not going to stop the wage supplement tomorrow but the reality is that we cannot keep giving it it forever or the economy will collapse. Now is the time to send a signal of trust in our economy; our economic wheel must start turning again.”
“We spoke of a wage supplement in the first phase, but in the coming days we must launch more incentives for the wheel to turn faster and to incentivise more people to invest their money.”
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