The Nationalist Party wants to create another 25,000 new jobs in the coming five years and continue to cut taxes, the Prime Minister said.

We have already managed to lower or eliminate 25 taxes in the past five years

Lawrence Gonzi, who often quotes the figure of 20,000 new jobs that have been created during this legislature, was speaking during an electoral campaign activity yesterday evening in Marsascala.

“We have already managed to lower or eliminate 25 taxes in the past five years and increased revenue from taxes. This was only possible because we created more jobs and we want to carry on in this direction,” he said.

“Our winning formula is lower taxes and more work.”

He said Labour was already showing signs that it would not be able to create the number of jobs necessary to sustain the economy and contrasted this with the PN’s electoral programme, full of new incentives to help more workers enter the job market.

He referred to incentives the PN was proposing for women, such as the provision of childcare services through vouchers and the right for working parents to use their sick leave when their children are ill.

On the need for more elderly persons to remain active, he said there were already 14,000 over 61s who were working while receiving a full pension. The PN was now promising to fork out half the national insurance of pensioners under 65 who stayed in work.

With regard to the investigation into alleged corruption in oil purchases, Dr Gonzi said he did not want to interfere in police work as he was sure they were doing a good job.

“We are not living under Labour where the police were used for partisan purposes. Today we have a police force that can be trusted and has even managed to proceed against members of the judiciary,” he said.