Labour Party leader Alfred Sant yesterday asked what action will the Prime Minister be taking following the release of audio tapes in which Minister Censu Galea is heard saying that a brimba (spider) existed in the Malta Transport Authority at the time when Mr Galea was responsible for the sector.

Speaking in Santa Lucia, Dr Sant said that Mr Galea was recorded speaking of corruption, the presence of a brimba (spider) in the ADT, how he could not trust anyone and on inefficiencies within the authority. The MLP is interested to know what the Prime Minister will be doing about it.

Dr Sant said that Dr Gonzi cannot ignore the problem, because Minister Galea has the responsibility to work with transparency, accountability and efficiency. Nobody can put forward the excuse that the tapes were provided by a person with an axe to grind. The MLP was not speaking about the people who were with Mr Galea, but what the minister himself had said.

He referred to previous revelations by the MLP with regard to the awarding of a cleaning contract at the law courts by the parliamentary secretariat in the Justice and Home Affairs Minister, and the distribution of fake CDs during an activity organised for constituents of Foreign Affairs Minister Michael Frendo.

He said the action taken was quite different to what happened when the MLP had harshly criticised former Foreign Affairs Minister John Dalli because the ministry had bought air tickets from an agency linked with his family. That time, Mr Dalli was removed, but this action was taken not because of transparency, but to please some groups within the PN structure.

Dr Sant also asked Tourism Minister Francis Zammit Dimech to explain how the lighting tender for the Notte Gozitana event was given out. He said that the contract was awarded to a canvasser of Gozo Minister Giovanna Debono, who offered a price which was half that submitted by other tenderers.

An appeal on the award of such a tender could be filed within three days. The appeal was actually filed within the stipulated time and by the time it was head the work involved had already been carried out. The government should explain how such matters continue to happen, Dr Sant said.

He added that Dr Zammit Dimech was always in the forefront when shows and concerts are being held, but when the Bobby Solo concert that was to be held in Gozo during the Notte Gozitana was cancelled because not enough tickets had been sold, all Dr Zammit Dimech could say was that it was not his fault.

All this showed that the country needed a new beginning under a Labour government, Dr Sant said. A new Labour government will lead the country seriously and responsibly. In the last four years, the financial burden on families had increased by Lm240 million in direct and indirect taxes, apart from the cost of living.

Dr Sant said that the government had spent Lm191 million more that had been estimated on a number of capital projects, and so far so explanation about this had been given. Former Nationalist MP Frank Portelli had also spoken about irregularities at Mater Dei Hospital, the Labour leader said.

Turning to other matters, Dr Sant said that the MLP will publish all its plans for the future of Malta and Gozo this summer so that the people will know what the party is proposing. The MLP is not promising miracles, but is proposing plans that can be implemented to make our country a better place to live in.

The MLP wants to help those who, with sacrifices, are managing to do well and will also sustain those who are in great need of assistance.

He referred to the MLP’s action plan for the Bugibba, St Paul’s Bay, Qawra and Xemxija area, saying that tourism operators in this zone were finding the going extremely tough because the number of tourists had dropped.

A fountain that was built in the sea off Bugibba, and which cost Lm80,000, was not functioning while another one that had been built on land by the Labor government has been removed and will be replaced by a kiosk, Dr Sant said.

After winning the election, a Labour government will once again work on the implementation of a regional development plan for the southern part of the country that had been started between 1996 and 1998. The plan aims to attract more tourists to the southern part of Malta, Dr Sant said.

The PN government had not continued to build on this plan. In a similar way, it had not continued to work on the pension plans that had been proposed by Labour.

Dr Sant said a Labour government will also work on a project to rehabilitate the area between Ricasoli and Tigne, and will strive to give the Grand Harbour area a much-needed facelift.