Opposition leader Alfred Sant gave his reaction to the prime minister’s account of the government’s last three years’ work by saying that it was amply clear that the people want a change of leadership.
Dr Sant said that the three years of PN leadership were characterised by arrogance, incompetence and jobs for the boys. He said: “As usual the PN made promises to the people that it can never hope to keep. Dr Gonzi said he wanted change, but it is clear that he neither wants to, nor can, change anything.”
Dr Sant said that over the past three years, there was a huge increase of Lm150 million in direct and indirect taxation. “But apart from this there was the huge burden of the increase in the price of water and electricity, which the MLP insists must be reviewed,” said Dr Sant.
He said that the surcharge was introduced in a savage and inconsiderate manner, without a care for those who would have to shoulder the burden. He said that this was done simply because the government had no clue of how to deal with the rising costs in oil on the international market.
“To accompany the state of affairs, the PN government has led Malta into all-time high unemployment which now stands at some 12,500. Last year, unemployment was below seven per cent, but this year, it has gone up to 7.8 per cent, which is completely against the trend in Europe,” said Dr Sant. In addition, Malta has an inflation rate of three per cent, he said.
Dr Sant added that Malta’s economy was stagnant and needed to grow by at least four per cent per year in order to be sustainable. Dr Sant said the tourism sector was also in free-fall. “Last year the government promised that it would attract 50,000 extra tourists, but they never materialised. In tandem, those who did holiday in Malta spent less than in years gone by,” he said.
He also pointed out that manufacturing was in decline with a reduction in exports of Lm90 million last year. He said that while there was a small turnaround this year, it will not be enough to make up for last year’s performance.
Dr Sant also pointed towards healthcare and highlighted the rocketing prices of medicines as well as the increase in waiting lists for all forms of treatment including surgery.
He said that there were not enough opportunities for vocational training as the MCAST did not fill the gap completely.
“We must also highlight the PN’s investment and privatisation blunders such as the failed Brindisi terminal investment, Maltapost, MIA and Maltacom,” said Dr Sant.
He also said that the PN had now lost four consecutive elections. Dr Sant added: “The MLP realised that the people were yearning for a change and that is why the party has started to draft policy documents that will be put together to form a regeneration for Malta plan.”
He said that the MLP had already issued its proposals for the tourism and environment sectors and was in the process of drafting policies for health, Gozo, industry and education.
Deputy leader Charles Mangion questioned the government’s claim that the economy had grown by 2.5 per cent last year. “The state of the economy is reflected by the employment situation and we know that it’s not a happy one. I would also like to know whether the government had included stocks and inventories in its calculations of economic growth,” said Dr Mangion.
He also said that the Lm250 million figure claimed by the PN as direct foreign investment over the past three years did not compare to the Lm319 and Lm308 attained by the MLP when it held office in 1997 and 1998.
Deputy leader Michael Falzon also addressed the conference and said that he hoped the PN was not proposing that Gozo be treated as one electoral district with the aim of altering the others. He said that the MLP was in favour of Gozo being one district, but not at the expense of more fiddling with districts.
Later in the day, Dr Sant headed an MLP delegation that met representatives from Competitive Malta, during which they discussed the industrial and economic situation of the country.