Updated with comments by Simon Busuttil

The Nationalist Party will publish its accounts and campaign expenses, Lawrence Gonzi pledged this morning.

The PN leader did not specify when the accounts would be published  and said Joseph Muscat was duty bound to give clear answers to allegations made by his former deputy that Labour was close to big contractors.

"Yes," the Prime Minister answered when asked whether the PN would take up the challenge made by Dr Muscat this morning for the PN to publish its accounts.

He avoided answering when asked what the PN meant when it said that an amount owed to Malta Fairs and Conventions was partly offset through a bartering agreement.

"We will publish all our campaign expenses," he insisted.

He reiterated that the focus should not be shifted from the allegations made by Anglu Farrugia - who was asked to resign from Labour deputy leader in December - that Labour had departed from its core values and befriended contractors.

DONORS' NAMES

Meanwhile, PN deputy leader Simon Busuttil said at a press conference that the PN would publish the accounts of how it collected the funds and how it spent them in its electoral campaign To date, he said, the party did not have authorisation to publish the name of the donors. "We have to be fair with the donors," he said, whether they donated €10 or €100.

Dr Busuttil also said that in view of the comments by former PL deputy leader Anglu Farrugia that Labour was too close to contractors, the PL was 'morally bankrupt.'

Asked to comment on the fact that the present PN general secretary and his predecessor had gone on holiday on contractor Zaren Vassallo's yacht, Dr Busuttil said such questions should be referred to them, but he would personally not have done so.

SCREENING PROGRAMME

Dr Gonzi was speaking after visiting the National Screening Programme at Lascaris Wharf in Floriana.

Accompanied by his wife Kate, Dr Gonzi was given an overview of the programmes that included breast and colon screening. He was told that from next year, screening for cervical cancer will also be introduced, putting Malta at the forefront of EU countries.

 

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