The Labour Party said today that the loan scheme launched by the Nationalist Party went against the spirit of the recently enacted party funding law.
It said this was a scheme for secret, non-guaranteed loans which lacked transparency.
Justice Minister Owen Bonnici and Parliamentary Secretary Deborah Schembri said the loan scheme showed inconsistency between what the PN said and did regarding transparency.
Dr Schembri said the PN scheme raised questions over how the borrowed sums would be repaid. Furthermore, the scheme went against the spirit of the party funding law because people could contribute without limit and anonymously.
Dr Bonnici said the party funding law provided for transparency regarding major donors, donations could not exceed €25,000 from a single source in a year.
PN REACTION
In a reaction, the PN said it was satisfied by the strong interest shown in its scheme.
It said its scheme had been praised by people who were not involved in politics because it should remove the interference of people who thought they could bribe political parties by making substantial donations.