Roads Minister Ian Borg had boasted about Infrastructure Malta embarking on a project to resurface several roads in St Paul's Bay/Qawra without having had the decency to point out that it was actually St Paul's Bay Council that was paying for the works, Nationalist MP Robert Cutajar told parliament on Monday.

In an adjournment speech, Mr Cutajar said the CEO of Infrastructure Malta had demanded an upfront payment of €1 million for the works, something which was disgraceful. The council deposited an initial €500,000 in the agency's account.

The government and the Labour Party were doing their best to discredit the PN-run council, Mr Cutajar said.

Some councillors had repeatedly walked out of council meetings to ensure that there was no quorum, preventing decisions from being taken and bringing about paralysis to the detriment of the residents of St Paul's Bay.

The council had long been seeking to redo the roads, but contractors always said they were otherwise engaged by the government, Yet after the council engaged Infrastructure Malta, it was those same contractors who showed up to do the work.

As if to rub salt into the wound, work had now being brought to an abrupt halt, before the second stage of the works was started. The pretext, according to a Labour councillor was that one did not want to give the impression that the works were being carried out because of the proximity of the council elections.

This, Mr Cutajar said, was unfair on the residents of St Paul's Bay and on the council. It also contrasted sharply with what this government itself did just before the last general election, when a huge amount of appointments and promotions were given as polling day approached.