Opposition leader Simon Busuttil this evening hit out at former Labour leader Alfred Sant, now an EP election candidate, for having in the past few days sent a letter to Gozitans claiming that in the past seven years Gozo took less than €2 million a year in EU funds.
Dr Sant later reacted, describing Dt Busuttil as 'technically illiterate'.
Speaking in Xaghra, Gozo, Dr Busuttil said that if there was anyone who was not credible about EU funds, it was Alfred Sant ,who had said (ahead of the EU membership referendum) that Malta would only receive Lm1.5 million in cash from the EU.
Dr Busuttil listed projects by the former government in Gozo including upgrades at the Gozo hospital, the building of a new ITS, new roads, restoration works and a new school in Victoria.
"We either performed the miracle of the loaves and the fish, or else he was, and still is, incompetent," Dr Busuttil said.
Dr Busuttil said he was determined to see the PN become a party of the people once again and, since he became leader of the party, he met many people and started better understanding what they experienced in their daily lives.
He said he met many people who were given vindictive job transfers and others who were working in uncertain jobs. Shop owners were worried because their sales had dropped - something backed by EU statistics. He also met pensioners who were worried they could not afford to pay for medicines that were not being provided for them by the government.
"It hurts to see that this government is, instead, focusing on the people in the inner circle of Labour Party... the government is not feeling what the people are feeling," he said.
He called on people, who were feeling this, to use their vote to send a clear message to the government that this was unacceptable.
DR SANT'S REACTION
In a reaction, Dr Sant said that due to the inattention of the previous administration, Gozo had failed to be accepted as a region by the EU while also losing out on the annual disbursement of EU funds to finance projects.
"The practice had been that of announcing new projects to be funded by the EU, starting them, and then letting them hang out. Mercifully, that has now changed," Dr Sant said.
“The Leader of the Opposition confirmed once again that he is politically devious if not immature, plus technically illiterate.“What Labour had claimed prior to membership was that the net inflow of funds to Malta from the EU as a result of membership, at the level of the government budget and at the level of trade exchanges would result in a net inflow of Lm1.5 million. That estimate has proved to be too optimistic in Malta’s favour.
"Intent on propaganda and lucrative consultancies to promote the EU, the Leader of the Opposition remained oblivious to this home truth, apparently to this very day. The issue may sound very technical but it was one major reason why the economic situation of Gozo deteriorated during the past decade,” Dr Sant said.