Labour leader Alfred Sant yesterday called on the government to publish the report that confirms that the concrete columns supporting Manwel Dimech Bridge are in good condition.

Speaking in Paola, Dr Sant said he had been informed that the tender had been issued to rebuild the decks of the bridge but not the columns. This, he alleged, was done so that when the work is completed they would realise that the columns needed to be changed as well, and the contract for the work would be given by direct order to the same company.

Referring to a PBS news report that quoted a foreign engineer saying the columns were in good condition, Dr Sant invited the Prime Minister and Roads Minister Jesmond Mugliett to publish the technical report that confirmed the engineer’s statement.

“The government has said the new bridge decks will have a lifespan of 25 years, but it has not said what the lifespan is for the existing supporting concrete columns,” Dr Sant said.

It is clear, he added, that people are fed up with the situation and they want to teach the Nationalist Party and its leader a lesson because “they have come to see themselves as mini Gods who are beyond reproach”.

Three years ago, a confidential report for the Nationalist Party had revealed that the public was concerned about a number of issues, economic and social. The report found that many felt the government had failed to keep its promises, and it was protecting the interests of the few, Dr Sant said.

“Three years later, nothing has changed and the problems identified in the report are very much the same today as they were then.”

Dr Sant said he had already mentioned the Lm191 million spent by the government on projects over the past 14 years; money which could have been used to cut by half the surcharge on water and electricity.

The Labour leader also insisted that the government still had to answer the questions raised the party’s experts on the revisions carried out by the NSO in December.

If Eurostat has confirmed that the revisions were done in line with accepted methodology, the government should not have a problem replying to Labour’s questions, he said.

Labour have raised eight technical queries. Dr Sant asked why net property income from abroad was not revised when manufacturing, a sector dominated by foreign ownership, registered increased profits.

Neither had government commented on the fact that some of the revisions to the Gross Domestic Product and its components were significant and they had affected the economy rate of growth over the years, he added.

Labour is also asking why the revisions in GDP were increasing, contrary to what was stated by the NSO in December. The government also has to explain why changes in manufacturing profits were the result of an increase in production costs and not in the final price. The government has not explained either why the Balance of Payments element was not included in the GDP revision exercise.

Dr Sant said discrepancies still exist between the subsidy figures in the National Accounts and in government’s financial estimates. He added that the NSO was not being transparent with regard to production costs for the years 1996-1998 and 2003 to 2006.

“The revisions were also conditioned by a lack of employment statistics, another area that lacks coherency and consistency,” Dr Sant said.

“It is the prime minister’s responsibility to answer these questions. We cannot accept a government that can do what it wants as if nothing really matters,” he added.

A 110-strong team of candidates will be contesting the next round of local council elections and they are determined to make a difference, he said, adding that this round will be relatively hard for the party because elections are being held in traditionally Nationalist strongholds.

Three years ago, Labour had just managed to gain an absolute majority in that round, although the European Parliament elections had been held that day and boosted voter turnout.

“That is why every vote counts and the 10 March elections will be another step towards the change that people want – a Labour government,” Dr Sant said.