Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi claimed yesterday that the Labour Party was trying to turn the clock back to the “dark times” before 1987.

Dr Gonzi said that statements made by the MLP’s secretary general Jason Micallef, Labour leader Alfred Sant and Labour MP Justyne Caruana were a clear indication that the MLP had not changed its ways or its politics and that “old” Labour was still around.



Speaking in Xaghra, Gozo yesterday morning, the Prime Minister said that Mr Micallef’s statement that Labour’s policy would be “eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth” showed that the party was stuck in the past.

“The pieces are starting to fall into place and we are getting a true image of the Labour Party. The ugly past is behind the MLP’s mask,” Dr Gonzi said.

“Over the years, the PN has worked hard to create a mature style of politics, where we sit around a table and discuss. We have diverse opinions but we respect other people’s views. However, the Labour Party are not saying the same thing,” he added.

The Prime Minister said the country had two options: it could either smile and say “they (Labour) are back in the past”, or, as he advised, “we need to start worrying. These statements are coming from a party that is doing everything it can to return to power. My advice is, start worrying”.

Dr Gonzi said the Labour Party was not interested in the country’s well-being.

“No matter what this government did or does, the MLP is always criticising. Why does Labour try to hinder us every time we announce that we have attracted new investment? We get no cooperation from Labour. All the party is interested in is power… whatever the cost,” the Prime Minister said.

He queried what the Labour Party was proposing for the country – what policies it was going to offer the people in 18 months when the election will be held.

“In 1996, I learnt a lesson. Before that election, Dr Alfred Sant had promised to remove VAT. I wondered at the time what he would be opting for instead. Six months after, he did remove VAT but replaced it with the CET”, continued the Prime Minister.

“However, while VAT was (then) only 15 per cent, the overall impact of Dr Sant’s CET was a tax of 28 per cent. Neither did he say that he would be increasing the cost of water and electricity – at a time when the price of oil was still low.

“Now he is also suggesting that the solution to our problems is to depreciate the value of the lira – for every Lm100 a pensioner receives, the real value will be Lm90. This is not a solution. The Labour Party has no direction, its policies are hollow. We have learnt our lesson and the people are intelligent enough not to make the same mistake,” Dr Gonzi insisted.

He said the government had brought new investment to Malta, it had become a member of the European Union so as to offer citizens a European standard of living and it was working hard to create new jobs.

Turning to Gozo, the Prime Minister insisted that the sister island formed an important part of the government’s plans.

“Thanks to EU membership, we will receive E800 million to spend over the next seven years. And 10 per cent of this will be used solely for Gozo. We want to boost Gozo’s economy and the lives of those who live here,” Dr Gonzi said.



Austin Gatt

Industry, Investment and IT Minister Austin Gatt spoke at length about the proposed SmartCity at Ricasoli and he asked why the Labour leader was against the project.

“A couple of months ago, the party’s deputy leader Charles Mangion and Labour MP Leo Brincat went to see the Internet City in Dubai and they were impressed with what they saw. Yet, Dr Alfred Sant is against the project. Why?”

The minister insisted that the government had not taken anyone for a ride.

“We always said that we will be building a city and not another Mosta Technopark. The investors said they wanted a city because through experience, they know that investors want to live close to their office. They know that a businessman only wants to stay for a day in a hotel, get business done, and leave. This is the concept that has been so successful in Dubai. And that is what we are proposing here,” Dr Gatt explained.

Dr Gatt said it made no difference whether there will be luxury villas or not. What was important, he said, was the promise that 5,600 jobs would be created and that $300 million would be invested in the south of the country.

“The investors could have gone to the north of the island, but we convinced them to go south because that is where the investment is needed.”

The minister said that whoever had divulged the plans for SmartCity when negotiations were still going on, had not done the country any service.

Dr Gatt said he would bet anyone that when the project was presented to parliament, the Labour Party would vote against because “they want only power”.

With regard to Gozo, Dr Gatt said the government had made it a point to restructure Gozo Channel because of its importance to the Gozitan people and to the overall economy of the island.

Dr Gatt said talks were under way with Gozo Channel to utilise some of the company’s profits for new schemes aimed at encouraging more Maltese to go to Gozo during the shoulder months.



Jesmond Mugliett

Urban Development and Roads Minister Jesmond Mugliett gave an overview of the hefty investment being made by the government to improve the road structure in Gozo and how particular emphasis was being made to get the overall infrastructure in place.

He spoke about the perfect synergy that existed between his ministry and that for Gozo and how, between them, and using EU funding, they were planning how to obtain the best product for Gozo for the benefit of the people living there and for life in Gozo in general.