Parliamentary Secretary Ian Borg should not only resign from his Cabinet position but should also give up his seat in Parliament over the way he obtained his Dingli development permit, Opposition leader Simon Busuttil insisted yesterday.
He said the standards expected of the Nationalist Party in past cases should also apply to the government.
Although he did not mention him by name, he was clearly referring to former PN MP Joe Cassar, who was made to resign his Parliamentary seat when it became known that he had allegedly permitted works at his home to be paid for by businessman Joe Gaffarena.
“If that is what was expected from our MPs then the same should apply to Dr Borg who the Ombudsman said had used ‘devious methods’ to obtain a permit for his property [in Dingli]. The Commission Against Corruption said there was no corruption involved, in legal terms, but there is political responsibility that must be shouldered. If Dr Borg thought that we have forgotten the reports over the festive period, I can assure him that we have not,” Dr Busuttil said.
We have a government busy spending from State coffers and using fuel prices to fund its corruption
Speaking during an interview on the party’s Radio 101, he also berated Justice Minister Owen Bonnici who dodged questions about Law Enforcement Systems Agency head Ray Zammit last Friday. Mr Zammit failed to turn up for question time with the media.
Dr Busuttil said it was “scandalous” how the minister had avoided questions by the media on whether he had faith in the former acting police commissioner, who had been involved in a number of controversies in the past months. “Ray Zammit was involved in some of the worst scandals since this government took office. What power does he have over the Prime Minister? Does he know anything about him? Is Joseph Muscat scared of him?” asked Dr Busuttil.
Dr Busuttil also spoke about how people were being “cheated” on high fuel prices and how this was funding the government’s web of corruption.
“Even though the international price of oil registered a sharp drop and is at an 11-year low, Malta’s prices have yet to fall accordingly, so the public is being ripped off on a daily basis.
“The problem is that we have a government busy spending from State coffers and using fuel prices to fund its corruption,” Dr Busuttil said.