The Labour Party does not want to withdraw Malta’s EU membership – these are all lies by the Nationalist government, Opposition Leader Alfred Sant said yesterday.

Dr Sant, who was being interviewed on One TV by Simone Cini, said that the Labour Party is committed to Malta’s membership within the EU but Malta has a right to raise certain issues in the EU that are in the country’s national interest.

Certain areas such as the dockyards, farming and fishing will be discussed by a Labour government with the EU to ensure that the country’s national interests are safeguarded – something other countries did too, he said.

He repeated that, under a Labour government, each minister and parliamentary secretary will be held accountable and will have to follow the rules to prevent any possible conflict of interest in the awarding of contracts.

“A Labour government’s main priority will be to adopt a zero tolerance policy towards corruption, abuse of power and conflict of interest,” he said.

Ms Cini referred to a comment Investment, Industry and Information Technology Minister Austin Gatt passed recently about government project overruns and said that this statement not only gave carte blanche to public projects but also to private contractors.

Dr Sant replied with another statement often used by Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi – “nothing happens by coincidence”.

“As Dr Gonzi likes to say, nothing happens by coincidence – these overruns are a clear result of bad planning,” he said.

Incompetence is not a coincidence, added Dr Sant.

Ms Cini then turned the subject onto the environment and stated that in the Malta Environment and Planning Authority (Mepa), there is still a culture of people “scratching each other’s backs for favours”.

Dr Sant said that it is important to set priorities for Malta’s natural environment.

“Mepa needs a serious reform and its procedures need to become more transparent,” he said.

The authority needs to become more efficient and ensure that the environment is protected – realistic aims are needed, said Dr Sant.

The Opposition Leader said that the natural environment needs to be protected and with an effective waste separation system, that will be done at source, on a national basis.

When asked about the government’s reaction to the Labour’s proposal to introduce a reception class, Dr Sant said that the Nationalist government is not being honest.

“When compared to other EU countries, we are not giving our children the same quality of education – we are falling behind,” said Dr Sant.

Children are at the centre of Labour’s social policy, said the Opposition Leader.

“The reception class will have trained teachers with a wide curriculum and children will receive a solid foundation for their future education,” he said.

He pointed out that this takes place in other European countries through a wide consultation with parents, educators and schoolteachers.

“We have to give our children their childhood back and, as a result, their most important formative years need to be organised in such a way so that they can manage to cope with children from other countries,” said Dr Sant.

He said that a Labour government will remove VAT from education through a refund on uniforms, schoolbooks, and computers that will be included in the children’s allowance.