Opposition Leader Simon Busuttil promised to deliver positive results for Gozo in the first 100 days of a Nationalist Party (PN) government.
He was addressing a PN mass meeting in Rabat, Gozo.
“I want to give you hope that after Saturday’s vote, we are ready to get to work from day one, and we know what we are doing. We have a dedicated programme for Gozo, a serious plan, and we are therefore determined to start delivering results in our first hundred days in office”, he said to the crowd.
“The Prime Minister made fools of us when he said that his government wanted to do a lot of things in the first 100 days in office...what is sure is that we will not be acquiring any companies in Panama in our first 100 days in office,” he said to loud applause.
The PL Government entered a public private partnership with Vitals Global Healthcare. This effectively means that a minority stake, meaning less than 50 per cent, of the public Gozo General Hospital to a private health company called Vitals, after heavy controversy. The government, after coming under heavy fire, did release the contracts – albeit being heavily redacted.
Dr Busuttil pledged that a PN government would give Gozo back its hospital, and ensure that it is once again in the hands of the public. He repeated claims that he will instruct the Gozo Minister, upon being sworn in, to immediately address the issue of breaking the Vitals contract.
He also promised that a PN government would publish the PL government contract with Vitals, without any redactions, “so that all can now what they [PL] were up to and investigations will follow”.
Workers scheduled to work for Vitals in the Gozo hospital will continue to work there as planned Dr Busuttil said. EU funds would be used to modernise the hospital, and develop it into a state of the art facility, adding that this is how such great results were achieved for Mater Dei and the Oncology Centre.
Turning to the permanent link between Malta and Gozo, where the tunnel has been found to be most feasible, Dr Busuttil said this project is a dream of his. Both PN and PL governments have spoken often about this tunnel, and the PL government commissioned some studies, however the two mainstream parties have dragged their feet on the matter.
He accused Dr Muscat of wasting three years, and promised that once the geological studies are concluded works to begin the tunnel project would begin immediately.
Appealing to those ‘genuine Nationalist’ supporters, Dr Busuttil said that he acknowledges that the PN had isolated voters, were heavy on the bureaucracy and were not flexible enough, he said that with Gozo becoming a dedicated region, with its own council, many mistakes of the past would not be repeated.
Appealing to ‘genuine Labour’ supporters, Dr Busuttil said that the programme for Gozo was written by a young engineer from a mixed political background, and that his only interest was Gozo.
Concluding the event, he said “the choice on Saturday is simple, and will be made by each and every one visiting the station. I am convinced that together, we will choose Malta (Jien naghzel Malta).
Deputy Leader for party affairs Beppe Fenech Adami is hopeful that Gozitans will choose Malta over the 'corrupt clique' leading Malta. "Prime Minister made it his mission to steal the vote of Gozitans. He said this while addressing a mass meeting in Rabat Gozo.
Beppe Fenech Adami
Dr Fenech Adami promised everything, told you everything you wanted to here, and today four years later, you can turn to him and confront him about breaking all promises," he said.He reminded the Gozitan crowd that a "PN government always took care of Gozo. In the 60s we built the hospital, after being forgotten in the 70s and 80s by PL governments, and it was a PN government in the 90s that built new roads, new infrastructure and gave Gozo what it deserved".
Dr Fenech Adami excused the PN for any wrongdoings it allowed to take place, but promised that a PN government would ensure that Gozo flourishes.
Mario de Marco
Deputy Leader for parliamentary affairs Mario de Marco said that he was addressing the crowd with a sense of humility, and also excused the PN on not delivering everything that it deserved."Gozo has a dream, that an economic miracle does not stop at Malta, but also reaches Gozo.
The choice to live in Gozo or Malta should be a choice, and not a necessity," he said."We do not just want Gozo to do well, but we want it to get off the ground running!" he exclaimed. He reminded the crowd of the Panama Papers scandal, where it was found that Minister Konrad Mizzi and the Prime Minister's chief of staff Keith Schembri were caught out each with a Panama company sheltered by trusts in New Zealand.
Dr de Marco also slammed the Police Commissioner for sitting on damning evidence in the form of four Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit (FIAU) reports which heavily implicate Minister Mizzi, Mr Schembri and others. The notion that Saturday's snap-election is essentially a choice on whether to accept corruption or not was stressed, and Dr de Marco urged anybody listening to think hard on whether truth should win over lies, on whether Malta should be lead "transparently and without taint" or "the lies of Joseph Muscat".
Marlene Farrugia
Leader of Partit Demokratiku (PD) Marlene Farrugia sympathised with all those parents who are concerned for their children who have worked hard to get a degree but are not getting all the opportunities they deserve because of their political inclination.
She also slammed the government for selling off national assets, such as the BWSC power station, Gozo general hospital and "many more". Dr Farrugia said that PN governments built power stations, has brought EU citizenship, when the PL are selling off those very same things.
Dr Farrugia appealed to any PL followers who are following, by saying that even if they feel that they are better off, she asked them to imagine how much better off everybody will be if the money lost on corruption to 'Mr Schembri' goes to everybody instead.
You may follow the event on the below link.