Acting Malta Labour Party leader Charles Mangion accused the government yesterday of not being ready to accept responsibility for its actions.

Speaking in Zebbug, Dr Mangion said the government does not know what accountability means, and he went on to list areas which, according to him, showed the government’s incompetence and irresponsibility.

Starting with Air Malta, he said the government had made a big fuss after it reached agreement on a three-year rescue plan for the national airline. The government had asked workers to make sacrifices to rectify a situation brought about by the purchase of the RJ70 aircraft.

Dr Mangion said: “These aircraft were bought despite advice to the contrary from Air Malta itself. The Cabinet decided differently and, despite the disastrous consequences, no explanation was ever given. Now the government is blaming the workers because the three-year plan did not work. The truth of the matter is that it is the government’s fault.”

The acting MLP leader said that no one had accepted responsibility for the disastrous state of the tourism industry.

Dr Mangion said that the government had refused to open an inquiry into the court cleaning contract scandal. At the same time, the Prime Minister, he said, is refusing to explain what really happened when former minister John Dalli resigned.

He said the cost of work on a stretch of road between Rabat and San Lawrenz in Gozo had increased by Lm1 million liri, while the cost of the berthing facilities in Mgarr had increased by Lm8 million, “but no one has accepted responsibility.”

Turning to education, Dr Mangion said it was true that the government was investing large sums of money in the sector. However, the results were not that obvious. He said the EU average for students leaving school early was 15 per cent, while the figure was over 40 per cent in Malta.

Congratulating the students who had graduated from university this year, he asked whether the country was offering them the future they wanted.

Dr Mangion said the Labour party was giving importance to the family in its policies and said it was a shame that the Prime Minister is saying he cannot do anything to reduce inflation.

He reiterated that a Labour government would reduce the water and electricity surcharge by 40 to 50 per cent.

The acting MLP leader said the government was boasting that it had created 6,000 new jobs. However, according to the Economic Survey published with the budget, only 630 full-time jobs had been created and another 3,000 part-time. Dr Mangion said the government was basing all its arguments on part-time employment.

Deputy leader Dr Michael Falzon said that people and not figures came first for the party.

Referring to Dr Alfred Sant’s address before the Congress of European Socialists in Portugal, he said the difference between the MLP and the Nationalist Party is that the former is ready to provide the people of Malta and Gozo with all they need.

The Labour Party, he said, was not only different but it would be an even better government.

Dr Falzon said the government boasted a lot but never came up with an explanation for the figures it was quoting on investment and job creation.

The truth is, he said, that Malta has one of the highest unemployment rates, one of the lowest labour participation rates and one of the highest rates of inflation in the EU.