The government does not care much about the rise in the cost of living and the surcharge on electricity which is affecting families; but was quick to find a solution to accommodate the interests of a group of friends of friends, Labour leader Alfred Sant charged yesterday.

Speaking during a political activity in Gharghur yesterday morning, Dr Sant referred to the controversy surrounding the rationalisation of the development boundaries claiming that a group of people close to the Nationalist government would benefit from these proposals.

Dr Sant described the proposed extensions to the development boundaries as a "bag of corruption" and that the government was trying to buy votes rather than face the problem.

He said that property which today costs between Lm60,000 and Lm70,000, once developed thanks to the new boundaries, would cost approximately Lm750,000.

Dr Sant referred to the Cabinet of Ministers' declaration that they will be filing a libel suit against him over his comments on the proposed plans. He said: "No threats will stop me from commenting about the issue because the truth is what it is."

Referring to claims that there are also MLP supporters who will be benefiting from these changes, Dr Sant said most of the people who would be better off with these changes are friends of friends who feel that they were treated unjustly because of the decision taken in 1988.

He said that if it was found that injustices were committed in 1988, the government could have tackled these one by one in a transparent manner.

Dr Sant said he could not accept that Environment Minister George Pullicino used time in parliament when there are few members of parliament to explain the changes.

The MLP leader said the government was spending millions of liri in consultancies which were not returning the expected results because at the same time, the rise in the cost of living was the highest in the European Union and unemployment was on the increase.

He said the Malta Labour Party was offering concrete proposals to solve the problems facing Malta. He added that it was evident that people wanted a change in leadership and in the way the country is run. He said the MLP was working to bring about this change and to bring about a new start for the country.

Dr Sant also criticised the government on projects which have been underway for several years but have not been completed yet. He mentioned the Mgarr and Cirkewwa quays and the Mater Dei Hospital as examples. On the latter project, he said that while the PN government ridiculed the MLP for saying that the project would be costing a total of Lm250 million, the PN is not mentioning the figure because it knows that this figure will be surpassed. He said the cost to run the hospital will reach the Lm1.8 million mark per week.

The Labour leader said the party was holding discussions with various stakeholders on its plans and proposals to give Malta a fresh start.

Meanwhile, later on yesterday, Dr Sant paid a courtesy visit to the Vikings Sailing Club in Floriana during an open day. He was accompanied by Labour spokesman on Education, Culture and Youth Carmelo Abela.