The Leader of the Nationalist Party Bernard Grech together with the Spokesman for Energy and Enterprise Mark Anthony Sammut and the Whip of the Parliamentary Group Robert Cutajar on Wednesday presented a motion of no confidence in Parliament against the Minister of Energy Miriam Dalli.
This was done amidst, what the party has been describing as a “crisis and the national emergency the country is facing”, adding that Miriam Dalli failed to recognize the crisis we are in, as thousands (of people) are suffering daily from continuous blackouts for long hours.”
Last week the Nationalist Party asked for an urgent parliamentary meeting to discuss this matter, but Prime Minister “Robert Abela refused, saying that this is just a political gimmick.”
“Today, however, the national crisis that Robert Abela refused to see, has become a reality that is being lived by the Maltese and Gozitan people every day”
In reply to the PN’s motion, the PL has issued a statement saying that ““No puerile motion by the Opposition will stop the Government from carrying out its plans for the energy sector.”
“The Government and Minister Miriam Dalli are focused on making the changes that the country needs. Changes that were planned in the electoral manifesto and that will continue to be accelerated even in light of the climate challenge.”
On Tuesday TMI reported how the scorching temperatures that have engulfed Malta for the past week have directly contributed to the deaths of four people over the weekend.
One death linked to hyperthermia was registered between July 22 and July 23, according to a representative for the health ministry. Three other patients had dehydration as the main cause of their death.
In listing other reasons for their no confidence motion and their want to censor the minister, the PN said that the power cuts have caused problems in the water supply, together with a “national crisis and a situation of emergency”.
Moreover it added that this “crisis”, could have been “predicted and avoided, both because the summer heat in Malta is predictable and because the deficiencies in the distribution system have been known for years”.
The PN added that it is clear that the lack of investment in the infrastructure of the electricity distribution system was the main cause of the energy distribution failure, which investment did not go hand in hand with the government economic policy based “on a sharp and unprecedented increase in the population, with the importation of more workers”.