Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said yesterday it was about time that Opposition Leader Alfred Sant started saying the truth rather than continuing to sow uncertainty and fear all the time.

Speaking in Gozo, Dr Gonzi said everyone knew Dr Sant was trying to take people for a ride.

"He keeps saying the Maltese economy is very bleak, yet both Bank of Valletta and HSBC registered record profits in 2005. How could they have registered such profits if the economy was in the state Dr Sant is always saying it is," Dr Gonzi wondered.

He said the Lm37 million profit posted by HSBC meant that the government would be receiving Lm13 million in tax from the bank and more was to be made through tax when dividends were paid.

"Much as the opposition keeps criticising the sale of Mid-Med Bank to HSBC, the government is making twice what it used to make when the government owned the bank," Dr Gonzi said.

He said it was no mean feat that 4,000 jobs were created last year, which was such a difficult year. "We were not freewheeling all along but going uphill all the time, with exploding oil prices and other international problems, but, worst of all, with an internal opposition placing hurdles along the way," Dr Gonzi said.

"We will soon show Alfred Sant how to get jobs; maybe he will learn. It's not by protests in Hamrun that one creates jobs," Dr Gonzi said.

The Prime Minister said the upcoming local council elections were important and he wanted councillors to carry on with their work. But the government should focus on policies that shape the future of the country.

"There are more important decisions for the government to take than the pothole or street lamp. We have to see how to spend the money Malta is receiving from the EU budget and get on with the pensions reform," Dr Gonzi said.