An increase of €158 million in recurrent expenditure alone is horrendous. And “recurrent expenditure” is the key word, since budgets have a tendency of expanding rather than the opposite.

Was it so easy to play around re-pigeonholing the other €92 million?

Is this Scicluna’s pride and joy function?

Scicluna also voted in favour of Konrad Mizzi in the confidence vote in parliament.

After all, the Minister of Finance assures us that it is ONLY 158 million, and the Minister is an honourable man.

So is an overrun of 158 million euros acceptable? And what has the nation and its people obtained from this additional 158 million euros spent?

Are all cancer patients now being given all their needed medication for free?

Have there been sufficient affordable houses provided to ensure that everyone is living in decent dwellings?

Has the price of petrol been reduced – oops, forget that one.

There are so many things that one can do with ONLY 158 million euros besides travelling and employing ‘consultants,’ ‘communication advisers,’ and other ‘persons of trust..’

This, in my personal judgement, is a very irresponsible statement which shows that the government is looking at short-term measures to boost its ego rather than at measures which are sustainable in the long term, should these increases in revenue, mainly through taxation, be lost as a result of political/economic/fiscal/regulatory decisions taken by the EU or individual countries which impact substantially on our competitiveness at a time when the government is not creating any economic alternatives.

This is not the first time that Scicluna has made an irresponsible statement.

Let’s not forget when he said that if the power purchase supply agreement/bank guarantee agreements had to be published they would damage our economy.

Let’s not forget either, that he never censured Joseph Muscat when he said that he had taken measures to save Malta’s banks and never said why.

Shall we expect more increases in fuel and other government services’ fees?