Labour leader pledges to speak the truth despite libel suits

The government has spent more money on empty buses travelling to and from Mater Dei Hospital than on the modernisation of health centres, Labour leader Alfred Sant said yesterday.

Addressing a party conference in Mellieha, he said that although the new hospital, which cost Lm300 million, was inaugurated three months ago, it was still not being used. This did not make sense.

Dr Sant said the people were fed up of the present "incompetent government" and wanted change.

The general election, whenever it was held, would find the Labour Party ready. The people wanted an efficient government that understood their needs and Labour would be that government. It would also be a government that safeguarded the people's tax money.

Dr Sant said that the national television station, PBS - which he described as "Mandra Malta" - was clearly being manipulated to serve as a propaganda machine for the PN in the forthcoming election. This could be seen by the way programmes were being allocated and the way contracts for current affairs programmes were being awarded and to whom.

Dr Sant alleged that a PBS director had intervened so that a programme was given to his daughter's company. At the same time, this same person posed as a man who was all for workers and democracy. Challenging this person to sue him for libel if he so wished, Dr Sant said the MLP was not afraid of libel suits and would continue saying the truth.

He referred to last week's Nationalist Party activities on the Granaries, in Floriana, and said that when Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi was being interviewed by One News journalist Charlon Gouder, the Nationalists were constantly switching off Mr Gouder's microphone. And when Mr Gouder asked Dr Gonzi what he would do if he lost the forthcoming election, Parliamentary Secretary Tony Abela threatened Mr Gouder that he would have to emigrate if Labour lost the election.

Dr Sant said that initially he could not believe that Notary Abela said such words but he was caught on cameras saying so. What kind of threats were these? It was clear the Nationalists feared the election because the decisions that were being taken were in the interest of only a few.

On education, Dr Sant said that despite the government's boasting about what was being done, Malta still lagged behind when compared to other EU countries.

Labour would introduce a new scholastic pre-primary year. It would also set up a new Junior College in the north of the country.

Labour Party deputy leader Michael Falzon said Labour was willing to move ahead on the recommendations of the Galdes report on party funding, which the Nationalist government had not accepted 14 years ago.

So many years had passed and nothing had been done but now, on the eve of a general election, the government wanted to do something about it.

The Galdes commission had proposed that parties should cap donations at Lm10,000 and every individual contribution above Lm5,000 should be declared. Labour had agreed, but the PN had objected, wanting to raise declared donations to Lm10,000 and the capping to Lm20,000. Alternattiva Demokratika had proposed to lower the two to Lm500 and Lm1,000 respectively.