The Nationalist government led by Dr Gonzi is incapable of facing today’s challenges and is totally incompetent, Labour leader Dr Alfred Sant said yesterday.
Speaking in Zejtun, Dr Sant said that although the Prime Minister spent two and a half hours boasting on the achievements of three years in government, all this transpires into one word: that is “nothing”.
Referring to the Maltacom privatisation and the guarantees not to sack workers up till 2009, Dr Sant made it clear that a new Labour government would oppose any redundancies at the former state-owned telecommunications company.
He said that this government is characterised by total confusion, and made reference to the Tal Qroqq Hospital project and the Mgarr/Cirkewwa terminals that have swallowed up millions of liri with no tangible result.
Dr Sant said that the recent announcement to extend building zones in formerly green areas showed that this government did not care about MEPA when it came to placating its blue-eyed boys.
Speaking on the conversion to the euro, Dr Sant said that he was already receiving reports that there were abuses going on with dual pricing. He said that although the government is blaming the cost of living increase solely on the high price of oil, statistics have proved otherwise.
Commenting on privatisation, the Labour leader said that the government had always sold its assets on the cheap, mentioning the case in HSBC and MIA, with Maltacom following suit. He said that it was ludicrous to believe that the sale of Maltacom to Tecom Investments was not linked to the SmartCity project.
Concluding, Dr Sant said that it is clear that the people want change and that the only option is a new Labour government who will move forward with credible and down to earth plans to make a difference.
Labour Deputy Leader for Party Affairs Michael Falzon said the Labour Party was the only political force that has a plan for the country. He criticised the Nationalist government for its ‘John Wayne’ strategy of shooting from the hip without a strategy or vision.
Dr Falzon said that on the contrary, Labour was moving ahead with various policy papers launched on topics such as industry, health and Gozo and would shortly be launching its plan on education. He said that Labour had committed itself to reduce waiting lists in hospitals and would also be looking into the exorbitantly high medicine prices.
Labour spokesperson on industry Chris Agius also addressed the activity and said that Labour was committed to the sector and had a set plan to create initiatives for this much maligned sector. He also called for changes in the Business Promotion Act to facilitate new investors for the growth of industry.