Speaking at a press conference held at the Malta Labour Party headquarters, Dr Cardona said that because of this budget cut several local councils are going to barely break even, let alone venture on new projects.

Instead of helping the local councils, the Nationalist government plies them with problems, Dr Cardona said. He said the local government’s funds have been reduced while their responsibilities have increased.

The Labour MP said that by reducing the local council budget, the Nationalists were going against what they had promised in their 1998 election manifesto.

The PN promised to give the councils more finances together with more responsibilities to make them more efficient. The government also said more money should be allocated to the local councils because they produced tangible results.

Dr Cardona said this is the second budget cut local councils have suffered, after the reduction made in October last year. The five per cent budget cut means councils have to find the means to pay all the contractors already signed.

This decision was taken without the councils being consulted, Dr Cardona said. The budget cut sends the message that the councils cannot make plans for one year, let alone the three years in which they are in power.

He also mentioned that with VAT being raised to 18 per cent, it now means the councils must give 7.6 per cent back to the government in the form of this tax.

Dr Cardona listed the hefty amount of money the councils will lose as a result of this budget cut. According to the Labour MP, Qormi local council will lose Lm9,000. The Zejtun and Birzebbugia councils will suffer a Lm5,000 loss while other councils also had their finances severely reduced, he said.

The Labour MP said the reduction in the councils’ finances does not coincide with the government discussions on keeping the council in office for four years instead of three.