Prime Minister Joseph Muscat stressed this morning that the people's verdict on spring hunting in Saturday's referendum would be fully respected.

If the people voted yes, the legal notice would be issued to allow spring hunting, and if they voted no, no hunting would be allowed during spring and anyone who went out hunting would be taken to court.

Dr Muscat reiterated he would vote Yes but said everyone was free to vote as he wished. His view, he said, was that the government should continue to have the right to apply a derogation to allow spring hunting.

He warned that if there was a yes vote and spring hunting was allowed, there would be no free for all and those who broke to law would be called to book. 

In comments on One Radio,  Dr Muscat referred to investments announced in the past few days and said these had nothing to do with the local elections and the 'best is yet to come'. More major investments would be announced in the near future as agreements were concluded.

He said this reflected optimism in the country which stemmed from the way how the government was creating the proper investment climate.

He noted that hoteliers in Malta were planning to upgrade to six and seven star status, starting from the Interecontinental which is to build new suites as well as a new casino. The same investors will also build another new hotel, Holiday Inn Express

He also noted how Indian pharma company Aurobindo Pharma is extending its Malta plant, going into new product production and doubling its workforce.

There was a range of other investments he said, not least in the health sector but also in many SMEs.

Dr Muscat insisted that economic growth was trickling down to ordinary people not least through the water and electricity rates. Fuel prices had been reduced, and those who bought a new property had lower taxes, he observed.

On the Gozo allegations involving former minister Giovanna Debono and her husband, Dr Muscat said one could not help notice how Opposition leader Simon Busuttil was 'hiding' from reporters. This, he said, had started after it was revealed that a contractor who was a whistleblower had met him.

Dr Busuttil had now even resorted to making recorded phone calls urging people to vote. 

Dr Muscat said the  individual who claimed that former Gozo Minister Giovanna Debono’s husband used public funds to carry out free construction works for her constituents was now officially protected by the Whistleblower Act.

Replying to reporters' questions at another event this morning, where he was asked whether the allegations put forward have been substantiated in any way as a result of police investigations, Dr Muscat said, “I am not the police and it is not my job to ask them for updates. From what I can understand, in order for the police to take the case to court, they require all necessary data. What I do know is that there is an official whistleblower, and is now formally protected”.

This was the first official whistleblower in the country that went through  trough the legal process confirming he deserved protection for information given. He has provided the police with a detailed list of places he worked on under the instruction of Mr Debono. The police now have to investigate every case listed in order to prove wrongdoing, government sources have confirmed.