A Nationalist government is committed to finding a solution to the Armier boathouses problem in the next legislature, and will legislate on the issue if necessary,  Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said this morning.

Speaking after the presentation of the party's 70 election candidates, Dr Gonzi said a PN government “will  respect and honour its commitments”.

He was asked whether the Nationalist Party would be renewing the agreement it had reached with the owners of the Armier boathouses in 2003 and 2008.

Dr Gonzi said that a viable solution to the issue was unsuccessfully sought in the past five years in talks also involving Mepa and the representatives of the boathouse owners. 

The process would continue and a new government would legislate, if necessary.

Dr Gonzi presenting the PN's candidates for the general election. Photo: Jason Borg

In his press conference Dr Gonzi stressed the importance of building upon the successes achieved in previous years. Saying he was proud of his team he thanked past candidates who opted not to recontest and  insisted that with the PN, one knew where one stood.

A new PN government,  he said, would continue to build on the successes achieved in the past years.

The PN was presenting the people with clear costings for all its measures.

Its main aim was to have a balanced budget by 2013 and a surplus in 2016. Dr Gonzi noted that Malta had among the lowest unemployment rate in EU countries, it had registered the biggest increase in women employees, had a record of students graduating from Mcast and university and its deficit was lower than three per cent.

On the other hand, Labour were experimenting, putting the people’s future at risk.

The PN had created tools which worked well in the past, it had managed to leave more money in the people’s pockets and continued to reduce taxes.

Malta had among the lowest tax rates in Europe and this would continue to be the case. The highest tax rate was being reduced to 32 per cent and would continue to be reduced gradually to 25 per cent.

He said that the measures the PN was proposing would help the country to generate work and create more jobs.

The PN had also presented a list of proposals aimed at promoting Gozo and create more jobs on the island.

Even specific measures such as those to encourage entrepreneurship were giving Gozitans, and women, preferential treatment.

He also spoke on other measures in the PN’s programme including to help the people with child care, the possibility for sick leave to be used in the event of a sick child and others relating to property, health, education and pensions.

The PN believed in the importance of technology and some of its measures were aimed at encouraging children to learn to adjust to technology throughout their life.

In a clear reference to the tablets promised by both parties, Dr Gonzi said that while the PN was giving a learning tool, others were giving children a toy.

Dr Gonzi insisted that his government had created 20,000 jobs and said that had this not been the case, the country would have faced major problems.

He spoke on the PL’s energy proposal, which, he said, had already been criticised by experts who told the PL that theirs was not the best solution - the best solution was a gas pipeline.

The PN had been aware of the energy problem for years and it had invested in a new power station years ago and at the beginning of this legislature started working on an interconnector cable with Sicily, for which it even obtained EU funds.

Moreover, smart metres would be operational by the end of the year introducing seven to 26 per cent cheaper rates at night.

On the other hand, Labour's plan would increase tariffs, he insisted.

Replying to a questions, Dr Gonzi condemned corruption unconditionally and said that throughout his political career he had always passed any report of corruption he received, whether anonymous or not, to the authorities to investigate.

Asked whether candidates had been screened to avoid the problems the party had in this legislature, Dr Gonzi said they were and people with pending court cases were gracefully asked not to contest.

Asked why was a magisterial inquiry had not been ordered into the alleged corruption at Enemalta, Dr Gonzi said that, at this stage, the country’s investigative forces should be allowed to do their jobs with the powers granted to them at law.

The government would see what other measures could be taken when these investigations are concluded.

The Prime Minister promised that he would continue to do his utmost till the last minute for the PN to win the next election.