Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said this morning that the government was working hard to tackle the problems in Malta’s power distribution network, which were causing power failures in several localities.
He said the problems were the result of a lack of investment in the distribution network in the past few years. Record demand for electricity last week was the result of the hot temperature, the growing economy, tourism, and also the lower tariffs, Dr Muscat said. The government was working on a programme to strengthen the network while at the same time continuing its programme to convert power generation to gas from heavy fuel oil.
The government, he said, was also working on other major infrastructural projects, of which one of the biggest would be the new traffic junction near Addolorata cemetery.
The government, he said, was showing the world what Malta stood for. The Individual Investment Programme IPP had been crucial in raising Malta’s profile.
And the profile would rise even more in the autumn when Malta would host the EU-African summit, followed by CHOGM and then a meeting of the Board of Governors of the European Central Bank.
The EU-Africa summit would be so big, Dr Muscat said, that there would not be enough space for aircraft at the airport. Some aircraft woudl fly in, drop off national leaders, and then park themselves in Sicily.
In his comments, made on One Radio, Dr Muscat deplored criticism by the PN on Bank of Valletta, which, he pointed out, was a publicly listed company. Such criticism, he said, was undermining the long-standing consensus which existed in finacial services. The PN was also strongly criticizing BOV chairman John Cassar White, even though he had served as chairman of Malta Shipyards under the PN government. This was a case of double standards.
Dr Muscat also referred to Opposition criticism of self-accreditation by Mcast for Masters degrees. He said that the PN attacks were shocking. The government, he said, did not distinguish between educational institutions but gave them, and their students, equal importance and support.