Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said he was convinced that Sai Mizzi would attract investment to Malta. Photo: Chris Sant Fournier

Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said yesterday he was convinced Sai Mizzi Liang, the Energy Minster’s wife, would get results for Malta following her appointment as envoy of Malta Enterprise in Asia.

Reacting to Opposition questions on whether he was concerned that, while he was in China, a government agency had engaged a minister’s wife, Dr Muscat said he would have been worried had it been the Chinese government which enga­ged Ms Mizzi, not Malta Enterprise.

He was convinced that Ms Mizzi would attract investment to Malta.

Dr Muscat stressed that people who served as the Government’s envoys were chosen because they were the best suited, independently of who they were and what their political beliefs were.

It was for this reason that this government had appointed Joseph Zammit Tabona as global trade envoy, after he had served as High Commissioner to London under the previous administration.

There was enormous potential to attract investment from Asia, and it was a disgrace that the previous government had not tapped it.

Indeed, much of the focus of the Maltese embassy in Beijing had been to process visa applications from Filipinos being brought to Malta to work as nannies.

As to how much Ms Mizzi was being paid, Dr Muscat said it was worth recalling that under the former government, Malta Enterprise had engaged a foreigner, Sir Chris Evans, with a €750,000 contract and without a call for applications.

He was meant to attract business to Malta in the biosciences sector. This Government stopped his contract because he did not bring any business to Malta.

Neither were any calls for application issued when Richard Cachia Caruana was kept on as consultant to the former prime minister, despite a vote of no confidence in the House, Dr Muscat said.

Attacks were being made on Dr Mizzi’s family simply because of the successes the Government was achieving, in what was the worst form of politics.

Dr Muscat also hit out at the Opposition Leader for having criticised Gozo Minister Anton Refalo over the ferry incident last Sunday.

The minister had done his duty when he made enquiries after the boat failed to pick up passengers, in breach of company policy. Did the Opposition leader want to see people being stranded?

Dr Muscat said Dr Busuttil’s interpretation of the minority shareholding by the China Power Electric in Enemalta, as privatisation, showed he did not know where privatisation started and ended. The Government would still hold the majority shareholding and the agreement should not give rise to concern.

Dr Busuttil had said the Government was privatising a strategic asset. Dr Muscat retorted that the Nationalist government had in reality privatised strategic assets such as the operation of Malta’s only airport, the management of the Grand Harbour and the Freeport, controlled by the Turks.

The Government had promised Enemalta workers they would not lose their jobs and that the company would be turned around. It was a breath of fresh air for them because rather than being a sinking ship, Enemalta now had good prospects.