Opposition 'unaware' of what is going on

A number of ministries reacted to comments made by Labour Leader Joseph Muscat yesterday, accusing the opposition of not knowing what the government was doing.

The Finance Ministry pointed out that Dr Muscat's proposal to cut taxes was already implemented. This is the third consecutive year that taxes were reduced, it said.

The government also invested heavily in research and development, with a record €322 million going into a number of infrastructural projects.

Several family-friendly measures, specifically catering for women, were also announced in this year's budget, the Finance Ministry recalled.

On ST Microelectronics, the ministry accused the opposition of trying to take political advantage of a situation affecting thousands of employees.

The article on The Times that Dr Muscat referred to quoted Mr Fenech as saying that "the government was not aware of any plans for mass redundancies at ST".

The government has been meeting ST regularly to see how the company could remain in Malta and it was only a day after the article was published that the company announced its plans. The Finance Ministry said it immediately contacted the company and the General Workers' Union to see how the situation could be handled. It also started talks with the bank for a moratorium for those who will be laid off.

The Infrastructure Ministry said Dr Muscat was completely wrong in saying that Enemalta made $10.7 million in profit due to falling prices of refined oil. The truth is that the $10.7 million is not profit but surplus left over from hedging, the ministry explained.

Referring to the Għadira road project, the Infrastructure Ministry said Dr Muscat's comments clearly revealed he did not know what was going on.

Last year, Dr Gatt had announced that the transport authority would file a planning application at the end of January. According to the Habitats Directive, the alternatives having the least environmental impact have to be considered.

The Resources Ministry said Dr Muscat's comments were a vote of no confidence in people's participation on waste management and recycling initiatives. The opposition was not informed about the massive investment made in waste management in recent years.

The Nationalist Party hit out at Dr Muscat's statement that the "government can forget pairing" and described his behaviour as "extremist".

This is the same attitude, if not worse, that former Labour leaders had adopted, the PN said.

Dr Muscat's comments about the Malta Resources Authority clearly show a lack of appreciation over how decisions are made in this country, the PN added.

Malta's entry in the EU brought about new rights and liberties for minorities, liberties that Dr Muscat had strongly opposed saying that EU membership would be the burden of the millennium.