Sant asks if Gonzi will investigate Pullicino Orlando

Labour leader Alfred Sant asked this morning if the Prime Minister planned to take the "scandalous case of corruption" involving Nationalist MP Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando to the Police Commissioner.

Dr Sant was speaking during the discussion programme Il-Ħadd ma' l-Aħbar, presented by Simone Cini, on One TV.

On Saturday, Dr Sant accused Dr Pullicino Orlando, "the green politician of the year", of corruption over a development permit for a nightclub, which could take 8,000 people, in the pristine Mistra valley, and outside development zone.

Dr Pullicino Orlando has rebutted these allegations and insisted that though he did own the land in question, it was rented out to third parties and he denied ever seeing the outline development application, or meeting the applicant.

"How can we believe that Pullicino Orlando didn't know the applicant, when it is Mepa's procedure to inform the land owner of the project? This whole thing stinks," Dr Sant said

Dr Sant also accused the government of disorganisation in the health sector, which was leading to huge waiting lists in the hospital.

A Labour government, through better consultation with all the parties involved, was planning to introduce a cooperation agreement with the private sector so that the load of surgeries would be shared and waiting lists cut down, he said. He also insisted that the government had discussed introducing payment for health services.

Education, gay rights, animal rights, and the cost of living were also tackled in the programme and Dr Sant ended with an appeal for people to remain calm in the run-up to the election.