PN Leader Adrian Delia accused the Attorney General of being in breach of the Constitution

Delia was delivering his Sunday political speech at the PN sub-headquarters in Sannat, Gozo, when he took aim at the Attorney General over the Egrant inquiry situation, and the fact that he has not yet been given a copy.

He said that there was a whole election campaign caused by the Egrant situation, and that all Maltese people have a right to know what the inquiry holds. He said that the Attorney General had given the Prime Minister a copy of the report stating that it interests the Prime Minister. "Doesn't the Attorney General know that this interests all the Maltese people. Doesn't he know that the constitution dictates that the Opposition Leader should have the same information the Prime Minister has? Doesn't he know that there are European Court decisions on the right to information. We have an Attorney General who is in breach of the Maltese constitution. This is not a normal country, as in a normal country the AG would not break the highest law in the land."

He mentioned that there is yet another report in government's hands, citing the Marsascala Wasteserv fire report. He said that this wasn't known up until very recently. He criticised government for withholding reports only releasing bits which are good for them, thus not putting Malta's interests first, but their own.

He also said that recently, Socialist MEP Ana Gomes said that she is informed that the Latvian FIAU had sent information regarding the 17 Black owners to the Maltese FIAU.

Delia said the Prime Minister spent over €1 million to say that Egrant isn't his or his family's, while at the same time there are two other companies belonging to Konrad Mizzi and Keith Schembri. "We also know that they were meant to receive a substantial amount of money from 17 Black. Ana Gomes is saying that the FIAU know who the owners of this company are. The Maltese officials asked the FIAU, which is tied by secrecy."He said that the FIAU responses to Maltese newspapers, instead of just saying they can't reveal, made political arguments. "This was a company that was going to pay substantial amounts of funds to two of government's highest officials. The Maltese authorities know who own it, but government is choosing to not take steps, but continue to tarnish Malta's reputation."

He said that the employment of thousands of Maltese in the Financial Services industry is thus being put into peril.

Turning to the creation of hostels for Gozitan students in Malta, he said that government has an obligation to treat all citizens equally, adding that when a Maltese and Gozitan student are treated differently then government is breaching the rights of Gozitan students. He said that government is currently treating Gozitan students as second class citizens, stressing that the PN treats the two groups the same, and that there should be no hurdle or extra expense for a Gozitan student in education when compared to their Maltese counterparts.

Turning to the Gozo General Hospital, he said that government had decided to give the hospital to someone who had no experience in the healthcare sector, referring to Vitals Global Healthcare. Delia added that this is why he took government to court over the contract, which he described as being much worse than corruption. He said that government sold the Gozo healthcare sector to someone who is still not yet know. He said he took this situation to court to bring this hospital back into the hands of the Gozitan people.

In the healthcare sector, government completely failed, Delia said.

MPs

PN MP Marthese Portelli took aim at Gozo General Hospital management and said that Gozitans are having to go to Malta for medical care out of necessity. She said that the helicopter service is completely unreliable, and that the situation in Gozo is inconceivable. "If you have a heart attack in Malta, you will be taken to Mater Dei hospital and probably be saved. If you have a heart attack in Gozo you risk death, either because doctors will not be immediately available for the procedures, or the helicopter won't be there, taking hours to come to Malta." She also said that government should invest in hostels and apartments for Gozitan students studying in Malta.

PN MP Chris Said also spoke, and said that the consultation over a Gozitan regional development authority for Gozo was a sham. He said the consultation was launched and no document to consult on was issued, that the three people on the presentation were all Maltese, and that the Opposition was not consulted. He said the PN believes Gozo should have a regional council to bring Gozo forward.

He also criticised the helicopter situation in Gozo, highlighting the case where a patient had died as he was not brought to Malta by helicopter in time, and that management and government's only move is to see how to make it seem as though the Opposition is lying and go on a hunt to uncover who gave the Opposition this information from the Gozo General Hospital. He said €30,000 a year was spent on the helicopter use when the AFM used to handle the service, whereas today Stewards Health Care earn a lot more and these kinds of situations occur. He said that today there isn't even a helipad at the Gozo Hospital, nor at Mater Dei Hospital. He stressed the need for investment in helipads that will just cost thousands, which would reduce the time needed for patients to reach the hospital thus saving more lives.

He highlighted another situation where a consultant in Gozo was on holiday, and there was nobody to replace him, resulting in a patient dying in Gozo after being in hospital for three days.

PN MP David Stellini said that the PN in its electoral manifesto noted the need for a Gozo regional council, democratically elected by Gozitans, which would create policies for Gozo. He spoke of past pledges made by government on creating jobs in Gozo, asking what government was doing on this issue.