The Nationalist Party today said that the public is paying the consequences of the government's incompetence.
Referring to the EU funds lost on the Coast Road project, Shadow Minister for European Affairs Roberta Metsola and spokesperson for Gozo Chris Said said that the funds lost amount to some €11 million.
"The loss of EU funds and the scandal of the magisterial appointments are the latest of examples which show the incompetence of the present government," Dr Metsola said.
In a press conference at Bahar ic-Caghaq, the spokesmen said that it is the Maltese public that, through taxes, is paying for the lost funds on the Coast Road project.
"The Maltese public will also pay for this incompetence by paying higher diesel and petrol prices," she added.
She mentioned how after this huge project, the public is still questioning how a newly built road was flooded after the first rain of the season.
Dr Metsola said that the government has been giving different versions regarding how these funds were actually lost.
"The government said it would use these lost funds for environmental and educational projects. It then said the funds would be used on road works. We are still questioning where these funds went."
Roberta Metsola also mentioned how this incompetence is being noted by the European Court of Auditors, the Ombudsman and the Commission for the Administration of Justice.
On Gozo, Dr Chris Said referred to the delayed project at the Cittadella. So far, he said, more than €2 million were lost.
He explained that this allegation was confirmed by the Gozo Minister himself when in January, while replying to a PQ, he confirmed that €10 million out of the €14 million allocated had been used.
He also mentioned how an ex-Labour party candidate declared that the budget estimated for the Cittadella project would be exceeded by over 30%.
In reply, the Labour Party said that Opposition Leader Simon Busuttil is persisting in his lie that Malta lost funds on the Coast Road project. The PL chose to quote Dr Busuttil as saying this when, in reality, Dr Busuttil was not present at the press conference.
Photos: Jonathan Borg