Muscat: SmartCity, White Rocks have disappeared from government rhetoric

Labour leader Joseph Muscat said today that political uncertainty was continuing to prevail in Malta and the government was doing nothing about it.

Speaking at a press conference near the Tritons Fountain in Valletta, Dr Muscat hit out at at the latest gas price rise. He said that Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi had said he intended to speak to people in their own kitchens, but as gas prices rose, he went abroad on holiday.

Dr Muscat said parliament was stagnant and public opinion of politicians was at an all time low as parliament was doing nothing. He insisted that the debate on the Opposition motion on justice and home affairs should be held urgently and the Leader of the House, who is also the Home Affairs minister, should not delay it any longer.

What was even more problematic than the political uncertainty was the fact that the government's sums were not adding up. The EU itself had not believed the government's growth projections and forced the government to scale back its outlay by €40 million, affecting all sectors including health.

It was ironic, Dr Muscat said, that while the government was making financial cutbacks, it was continuing to spend on the new parliament and City Gate.

Government was spending €600,000 in debt servicing costs every day, but there was nothing to show for it. To make matters worse, income projections were not being met.

Dr Muscat said SmartCity, the White Rocks and the Corporate Village had disappeared from the government's rhetoric. What had happened to the promised 7,000 jobs promised at SmartCity?

He said Labour would continue to insist that electricity rates should be reduced, and industry should be faced with less bureaucracy.

In the health sector, he said, there was not even management by crisis, but just a crisis.

In his press conference this morning, the prime minister showed that he had learnt nothing, Dr Muscat said. Dr Gonzi had gone back to self-praise without recognising the problems which the people were suffering.

Decisions, Dr Muscat said, needed to be taken for the good of the country not the clique.

He said the Opposition had been responsible in not calling divisions in parliament on subjects such as the Croatia EU accession motion and the Greek bailout but the government still needed to stop political uncertainty.

Dr Muscat said he supported government efforts to buy oil and gas at favourable prices from countries such as Libya and Qatar, and said this confirmed what Labour had been saying, that something could be done to cushion the impact of high oil prices.