In the upcoming Budget the Nationalist Party expects to see a clear economic plan and measures to tackle unemployment, party leader Simon Busuttil said this morning.
So far, the pre-Budget document spoke in generic terms without giving concrete measures, he said.
“The Labour Party was elected on the pledge that it will bring about a change in direction but, six months on, we know that the direction has changed but we don’t know where we’re heading,” he said during a radio interview on Radio 101.
The Labour Party was elected on the pledge that it will bring about a change in direction but, six months on, we know that the direction has changed but we don’t know where we’re heading- Busuttil
Moreover, he added, in areas where there were problems, like out-of-stock medicines and immigration, the situation got worse under the PL.
Pharmacists were reporting that the problem with out-of-stock medicines was worse than ever before, he said adding that Prime Minister Joseph Muscat and Health Minister Godfrey Farrugia disagreed on the severity of the situation.
Dr Farrugia recently said it was not alarming when Dr Muscat said he was not satisfied.
“I don’t expect the government to change the world in six months, but I don’t expect it to make it worse,” he said.
IMMIGRATION
As for immigration, he said that despite the fact that Dr Muscat stamped his feet at Europe with the push back threat, the reality was that today Malta faced more immigrant landings, more racist feelings and a damaged reputation in Brussels.
He accused Dr Muscat of breaking several electoral promises such as the promise of political accountability and transparency.
He made reference to Home Affairs’ Minister Manuel Mallia who recently declared that he had €500,000 in cash at home which he received after selling a property. But it turned out this was not the case.
Dr Busuttil questioned where the money came from and whether it was declared. This was an “anything goes” government, he said.
Then there was the recent incident of the police charging the wrong man with committing a hold-up.
A Police Board inquiry investigated the police officer who charged the right person and not the ones who arraigned the wrong man, he said. Times of Malta, he added, also revealed that the new Police Board was appointed about a week after the inquiry was launched.
The Police Commissioner then said he would hold an internal inquiry to see why the wrong man was arraigned - a job that should have been carried out by the police board.
“I can’t say I have too much confidence in the commissioner… given that it was a political appointment… He seems to be more interested in covering up for others… than seeing who really made the mistake,” Dr Busutil said.
He said the Opposition would always speak up when it saw something wrong and praise what was good.
For example, it had praised the oil agreement signed with Libya. The question now was when this would come into force and the price Malta would pay.
POWER STATION
Dr Busuttil said that the Government had shown further hypocrisy when it recently applied to extend the use of heavy fuel oil at the power station.
“During the elections Joseph Muscat described the power station as a cancer factory and said he would immediately change it to diesel… He took advantage of people’s fears. But what is the truth? Was it never a cancer factory or it is still one?,” he said.
DIFFICULT DECISIONS ON PN FINANCES
Dr Busuttil said that in these four months as PN leader he started by focusing on getting the party back on its feet. Difficult decisions had to be made such as the reduction of employees, but this was done to ensure there was a PN to support in five years’ time.
“But the end of this month the party will be able to break even,” he said adding that it still had past debt to tackle.
He said that the Independence festivities would go ahead and be paid for directly from the funds raised during the various events.