Opposition spokesman on defence Joe Debono Grech claimed in parliament on Wednesday that the army was bereft of ammunition and that its 2010 budget had been already spent by last March.

Speaking during the debate on the Budget Measures Implementations Bill, Mr Debono Grech said that the aeroplane for the Armed Forces, promised in other previous budgets, and had been promised again for 2011. Contrary to what had been signed in the contract, the patrol boats built in Australia consumed much more fuel than the other patrol boats and only one was out at sea because if all three went on patrol at the same time, there would not be enough fuel to continue the patrols.

Mr Debono Grech said injustices in the army were still rampant and promotions had been given to people who did not deserve them to the detriment of others. The Prime Minister had not answered his criticism on the Armed Forces during the Budget debate.

The government was speaking of Frontex initiatives when this had failed in its mission. Why was the government voting the same amount of expenditure on illegal immigrants when their numbers had been greatly reduced?

Mr Debono Grech recalled that the Nationalists in opposition had voted against the setting-up of Air Malta in 1973 and were sceptical of the annual bonus given to all employees for the first time in 1971. On the contrary, a Nationalist government had given subsidies to the privately-owned Air Melita which went bankrupt within months of its inception.

In selling Mid-Med Bank to HSBC, the Nationalist government had let the company to take over the priceless (Joseph Mallord William )Turner painting which was national property and heritage. The painting had now been lent by the company to the government and so much was made of the fact which only meant that the bank had lent the people something which belonged to the people.

The government had blamed port workers for price increases but the cost of living continued to rise years after the port workers had been emasculated. The same happened in the Drydocks case and the government had now also tried to put blame on workers in the case of Air Malta.

The government boasted that the Budget did not contain any new taxes but fuel and gas had increased twice since the Budget had been announced in October. This increase was a blow to families, businessmen and industry. This was typical of PN governments which then gave benefits during the year priot to the general election to woo voters.

Despite the MEPA reform, applicants for development permits had waited for six months and had still not obtained permits for minor building alterations. The same authority had, in just two days, issued the permit for the building of a hotel where the Commonwealth Conference (CHOGM) were due to be held. Permits had also been issued for building in valleys.

He criticised the government engaging a foreign architect to build the new parliament and an open air theatre in Valletta. Were there no Maltese architects who were qualified and able to undertake these projects? he asked.

On the BWSC issue, Mr Debono Grech said that the fact that the Auditor General declared that there was smoke surrounding the contract meant that these were sure signs of corruption. There were people who had personal interest in government contracts.

Poverty was a reality. There were children who went to school without a mid-day break snack. Families with medical problems were facing financial difficulties and the real figure of unemployment was bigger than that declared officially.

There were people working for a few hours on a part-time basis and who were declared as self-employed persons. He criticised the governor of the Central Bank for attacking the stipends system, adding that with his salary he surely did not know what suffering poverty meant.

Mr Debono Grech said that the government was guaranteeing debt incurred by the Irish government when, before EU membership, it had boasted on how buoyant the Irish economy was. It would pay were the government to acknowledge today’s economic and social realities.

Earlier, Mr Debono Grech recalled that a former nationalist government minister, the late Dr George Bonello duPuis, had boasted that it was not wrong to borrow because such debts would be paid by future generations.

On being voted into power in 1996, the Labour government had found that the country’s finances were in shambles.

Then finance minister Lino Spiteri told his colleagues that the situation was worse than that Dom Mintoff had found in 1971 and the government did not even have enough money to pay its employees.

Minister Dalli had, months before, warned his own government of the difficult financial situation.

Labour had to pay Lm29 million to Church schools and Lm46 million to contractors for services under the previous Nationalist administration. There was also the debt incurred by Gozo Channel and Maltapost.