The government is stealing from the people with the new power station, and the fact that Minister Konrad Mizzi continues to boast that this “theft is best practice” means that the government intends to continue stealing from the people, Opposition Leader Adrian Delia said today.

The money that is being stolen from the people would go a long way to help families, with workers getting only €2.33 extra a week as from next year, Delia said when closing a conference organised by the PN’s Workers’ Solidarity branch.

Delia said Prime Minister Joseph Muscat admitted that some €200 million are being stolen from the people every two years from the power station contract. This was happened at a time when young couples could not keep up with renting property, 3,200 people are waiting for social housing accommodation and 70,000 people are below the poverty line.

Delia said the people are at the centre of the Nationalist Party’s policy and workers are a priority. For Muscat, the increase in population means a better economy but he is not realising that this does not mean a better quality of life, Delia said.

The bringing in of 15,000 foreign workers every year will lead to cheap labour and low wages. The number of people experiencing financial poverty has risen by 10,000 in the last five years, and many families are finding it hard to buy daily commodities, Delia said.