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PM claims Muscat promising development permits

Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said today he had been informed that Opposition Leader Joseph Muscat was holding meetings with individuals and promising them development permits - even though, he said, there might be problems with Mepa.

Speaking on Radio 101, Dr Gonzi said an interview carried today in The Sunday Times confirmed his suspicion that Dr Muscat was holding these meetings and making these promises. (see interview at http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20120617/interview/-I-ve-no-problem-biting-the-bullet-.424564 )

Was Labour's environment policy influenced by these meetings? Labour, he said, had a bad record in the environment, with historic sites having been spoilt and a disco having even been built within Fort St Angelo.

Dr Gonzi said government policy to stop subsidising areas which did not yield returns to the country, such as the dockyard and Sea Malta, meant funds could be channelled for areas where such funds were better used, such as education and students' stipends.

Labour could not be trusted on issues such as students' stipends. This was not only because of the comments made by MEP Edward Scicluna but also because of the way how Evarist Bartolo - Labour's current education spokesman - converted stipends into loans, contradicting a Labour promise.

Another current Labour front-bencher, Leo Brincat in his only Budget as Finance Minister introduced a tax on medical prescriptions.

And one also remembered how Karmenu Vella, who is now writing Labour's electoral programme, presided over record unemployment in Malta.

Dr Gonzi criticised Labour over personal attacks, saying the latest one was the motion calling for Richard Cachia Caruana's resignation. The motion will be debated tomorrow.

Motions such as this, he said, reminded the people how Labour in the past sought to destroy people. 

The Nationalist government, he said, would stand by students' stipends, viewing them as investment for the country's future. A Nationalist government would also continue to invest strongly in education as a whole, as well as health, the environment jobs and the roads.

Dr Gonzi also defended the investment being made in Valletta, including the extensive restoration of the bastions and the City Gate/new parliament project. The government wanted to see a vibrant city as well as a city worthy of being Europe's cultural capital in 2018. Malta should be proud of the work being done by Renzo Piano in association with Maltese architects. Criticism by Joseph Muscat, he said, was being made for reasons of partisan politics. For labour, quality was not important. It was back to mediocrity.

Yet the Valletta projects were not only creating jobs, but they would eventually also free up the Palace to be restored and become another gem of a tourist attraction.

PL REACTION

In a reaction, the Labour Party said that what was being said about Dr Muscat's meetings was 'lies' and Dr Gonzi was only deviating attention from the promises which he had not kept.

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Ian Calleja

Jun 18th 2012, 14:29

TO MR OR MRS M... DARMANIN ,

DO I UNDERSTAND YOU CORRECTLY ?

ARE YOU POSSIBLY ADVOCATING A BLANKET RE- INTRODUCTION OF A FEE ON FREE MEDICINAL PRESCRIPTIONS AS WAS THE CASE FOR DR ALFRED SANT'S / LEO BRINCAT'S INSENSITIVE PROPOSAL TURNED 1997 SOCIALIST BUDGET IMPLEMENTATION OF 50 CENTS (MIND YOU, TODAY'S 1.23 EURO FIFTEEN YEARS BACK), ON EVERY PRESCRIPTION SHEET THAT ,AT THE TIME COVERED DRUGS FOR , ON AVERAGE, A PERIOD OF 30 DAYS.
YOU MUST CERTAINLY REMEMBER THAT THIS PRECISE TAX (OUT OF THIRTY DIRECT TAXES INTRODUCED IN FOURTEEN FATEFUL MONTHS FROM NOVEMBER 1996 TO DECEMBER 1997) WAS A MEASURE DEEMED TOTALLY ANTI-SOCIAL BY NO OTHER THAN THE LABOUR CAMP ITSELF, AND HAD LED THEN HEALTH MINISTER MICHAEL FARRUGIA TO PARTIALLY SAVE FACE BY ADAPTING THE CHARGED TAX TO 50 CENTS PER PRESCRIPTION COLLECTION MONTH AND NOT PER PRESCRIPTION SHEET .( THE ELDERLY & MOST PRECARIOUSLY ILL, WHETHER WELL-OFF OR UNDERPRIVILEGED, WOULD NORMALLY HAVE THREE OR FOUR PRESCRIPTION SHEETS PER MONTH, MANY OF WHICH DULY FILLED IN BY THEIR OWN MEDICAL PRACTITIONERS AT A FURTHUR CHARGE OF 50 MALTESE CENTS TO ONE LIRA PER PRESCRIPTION LOT, DEPENDING ON THE SOCIAL CONSCIENCE OF THE INDIVIDUAL GP. THIS PROFESSIONAL COST HAS, BY THE WAY, NOW MORE THAN DOUBLED TO QUADRUPLED TO FIVE EUROS PLUS PER LOT).

IAN CALLEJA

Joe Tabone

Jun 17th 2012, 22:22

@K Cassar
The timing may have been wrong but the intention was correct. As you are aware, Profs Zammit (PL) used to earn his salary (from the Government)as a Consultant and also receive his Parliament salary. Ministers had the same thing, they received their Parliament salary together with their Ministerial salary. In all probability the consultant used to earn more. Good luck to him!

Alex Cutajar

Jun 18th 2012, 08:38

@Joe Tabone

You are vaguely wrong. Are you serious about 'good intentions'? The 500/600 euro pay rise had been there since 08/09, aka. when the recession had been supposed to hit.

If the increase in pay had good intentions, why didn't PN brag about it? Why did they leave it in their secret pocket? Generally PN brag about anything they do.

So are you sure that this was for a good intention? How about trying to set your mind to a better and less biased point of view?

Dione Spiteri

Jun 17th 2012, 21:22

Eagerness for power? Are you sure Dr. Gonzi is such? What about Muscat wanting to be PM at thirty something, promising his faithfully, for the last four years, that the election is round the corner and turning his PL into an all welcome garage, trying to collect as many votes as possible. Think again friend

Mr David Ganado

Jun 17th 2012, 21:08

It seems you are one of those who slipped through the net when at school. What about trying to learn how to string a decent sentence in English before commenting online? Once back at school i suggest you also take some lessons in objective reasoning and research before uttering inanities.

m. borg (slm)

Jun 17th 2012, 22:16

Mr Ganado it is not very christian of you.

Joe Tabone

Jun 17th 2012, 17:45

Rene,
Being in politics does not mean being populist!!

m. borg (slm)

Jun 17th 2012, 17:53

most probably he doesn't like himself otherwise he would not come out with such childish statements.

J Busuttil

Jun 17th 2012, 18:59

@ Rene

Neither is Joseph here :

http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20120617/local/Labour-will-go-for-land-grab-from-the-sea.424565

as most of those who are praising your leader are the same bloggers which could also be you under a different name.

Anthony Grech

Jun 17th 2012, 17:39

And that is what Gonzipn is doing right now.

Francis Sammut

Jun 17th 2012, 20:19

Oh how right you are Mr. J. Borg!

jane camillleri haber

Jun 18th 2012, 07:46

do you know that students start working when they are already in their mid twenties?. if they have to pay back the stipends, when will they start saving to buy their matrimonial home? remember in our days we could rent a house with little money? , nowadays our young people will be forced to buy their own property and enter contracts of repayment stretching forty years with the banks, simply because what they would pay back in loans is equal to what they would pay if they rent a place!! ! this after having got their degree and maybe in two years time find a full time job. I agree with the prime-minister that investing in our youths should be one of our main columns of investments and we should do this by encouraging them to study on with all possible means. that includes helping them out financially without concerning them that they will have to make refunds! they will have enough financial commitments to think of after graduating.

joseph saliba

Jun 17th 2012, 17:32

Don't you know you can get a prescription for free from a Polyclinic doctor.

m. borg (slm)

Jun 17th 2012, 17:38

Yes but to take a couple of hours leave wasting them at the policlinic would be just as expensive, not everyone is a seniour citizen like you with time to waste.

m. borg (slm)

Jun 17th 2012, 17:52

Not everybody has the luxury to waste time like your good self Mr Saliba.

Taking time off to get a prescription from a policlinic is just as expensive, especially for us who have to make ends meet.

Wally Vella-Zarb

Jun 17th 2012, 19:45

Did you know, Mr Saliba, that you needed an appointment to see the polyclinic doctor (at San Gwann) or that you could only get a prescription from the Gzira polyclinic before 0830? It was costing me more in wasted time than the 50cents that I would have had to pay under the Sant system. Perhaps now you can get 'walk in' service at the polyclinics? I gave up a long time ago.





Mario Busuttil

Jun 17th 2012, 17:18

Mela insejt x gara qabel 1987 fiz zmien il PABP.....jew ahjar meta kien ghadu haj Il Lorry Sant kemm inhargu applikazzjonijiet ghal minn huwa Ahmar biss!!

James Tyrrell

Jun 17th 2012, 22:17

And what has experience taught you about GonziPN apart from the fact that they can't keep their sticky fingers out of the till?

James Tyrrell

Jun 17th 2012, 22:15

A tourist attraction? A modern looking building at the entrance to a Baroque city. Yeah I can see how I would be tripping over my own feet to see that! Maybe you mean the City Gate, but no because it's no longer a proud City Gate is it, it's just a slit in a wall. Ah but you are talking culture here Alex so it must be the opera house you are referring to. Unfortunately not as even the musicians who would be appearing in it have stated how stupid a venture it is. Now just think what could have happened if Gonzi had used his head for once and created these jobs you are referring to by setting in motion a national road improvement program. But then the little brass plate with his name on it wouldn't look so good on a road would it?

Edgar Azzopardi

Jun 17th 2012, 17:08

Hares lejn il prezent u titwerwer aktar, Sur Cutajar !!

Andrew Cumbo

Jun 17th 2012, 18:53

Jien kull xahrejn taqbadni il- biża Sur Cutajar, meta jkun wassal il- kont ta’ dawl. Ġħax jien u min hu bħali żieda ta’ €1.62 u mhux €500 fil gimgħa. Taf xi jbeżgħani ukoll, li ta dan il- għoli kollu li qiegħed nħallas dan il- Gvern għazel li jħadem il- power station bl-iżjed zejt li jniġġeż b’ dettriment ġħall saħħitna. Taf xi jbeġħżżani ukoll, li għadna gvern li mhux kapaci jagħmel prijoritajiet. Għażel li jżied id-dejn biex jibni parlament ġdid u tejatru bla saqqaf minflok qiegħed jgħin lill min għandu bżonn.

Joseph Camilleri

Jun 17th 2012, 16:16

Sa fejn naf jien, Gonzi ibezza bir REALTA, il passat tal Partit Laburista, hemm qied, FIL PARLAMENT!!!

IVA, nibza hafna, nitkexkex li alla hares qatt dawn in nies, li kienu spalla ma spalla ma Mintoff jkunu fil gvern, u nibza ghax ghandi ghal fejn nibza minn dawn in nies li KISSRU lil Malta bil mod kommunist ta kif mexxew lil Malta!

Ara vera, intom il lejburisti ma tisthux, u apparti minn hekk, qass misskom tissejhu Maltin. Misskom tissejhu LABURISTI!

Freddie Muscat

Jun 17th 2012, 17:24

A. Dimech,

Fejn jidhol l-ambjent u l-ippjanar ghandu ragun jibza l-poplu mill-Labour.

Insejt kif kienu jinhargu l-permessi ghall-izvilupp fit-tmeninijiet? Insejt kif kienu jittiehdu l-artijiet privati b'daqqa ta' pinna biex taparsi jinholoq ix-xoghol u tikber l-ekonomija? Jew forsi tghid li kien hemm bzonn li jsir hekk, kif qed jghidu issa bis-saga tan-National Bank of Malta.

A.Dimech, tkellem ma min hu imgarrab biex tkun taf jekk veru jezistix il-ba baw li qed isemmi.

daniel farrugia

Jun 18th 2012, 07:37

insejtu li 2012 qedin??

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