Updated 3.20pm with PN statement

The Opposition has called for a public inquiry to investigate Identity Malta amid claims that the government was "buying voters".

Identity Malta was synonymous with corruption, non-transparency, and abuse. Secrecy was the order of the day, Opposition spokesman Jason Azzopardi said.

He laid on the Table of the House a list of 42 people who applied for voting documents on the same day that they bought the IIP. Four of them had applied even before buying citizenship.

The government, he said, had created privileged, faceless voters. The courts had agreed with the PN and ordered they be struck off the electoral register. The consequences of such action, he said, was criminal.

"The purchase of votes is corruption. This is what's happening at Identity Malta and that's why we are calling for a public inquiry."

Citing yesterday's story in The Sunday Times, the Opposition said the government plans to start cancelling tax arrears in exchange for property - this is nothing but a recipe for corruption. 

Earlier, he said the government was turning the Advocate General into an appendix of the ministry and accused his office of failing to act over the money laundering scandal in Panama, the 7,000 visas issued in Algeria, the Gaffarena scandal and the Cafè Premiere issue where the prime minister used his personal e-mail.

He criticised the government for introducing a scheme through which those having tax arrears could give property in lieu. Dr Azzopardi called the scheme diabolical, even more so seeing it was audit firm Nexia BT, which had been appointed to oversee it.

A fund should be set up to help bands and social clubs being evicted out of their premises because of an unconstitutional law, Justice Shadow Minister Jason Azzopardi suggested in parliament today.

Speaking during the debate on the votes of the Justice Ministry, Dr Azzopardi said tenants who have also occupied premises under a 1979 law were being evicted and the government is not lifting a finger.

Clyde Puli

Clyde Puli (PN) said that with the addition of 25 employees at the PBS newsroom, the number of workers was now close to what it was before the restructuring process. The new employees, he said, had a PL political pedigree.

He said head of news Reno Bugeja was under the influence of the Office of the Prime Minister about the content of news broadcast.

"Why were Times Talk, Madwarna and Malta Independent programmes eliminated from the current schedule? Xarabank nearly suffered the same fate," he said.