Noel Farrugia, the Labour Party’s spokesman for agriculture, fisheries and rural development, accused the agriculture ministry of utter neglect in its facilities, saying that the damage caused over the past weeks at the fishmarket stores and the slaughterhouse pork line was the result of this neglect.

Other shortcomings which can be attributed to this neglect were that the meat and deboning plant at the slaughterhouse, which was completed two years ago, was still not functioning; a border inspection point at the airport which was completed before May 2004 was also not functioning, and the slaughterhouse incinerator needed to be modified again in spite of a Lm4.5 million investment. It, too, was not functioning, Mr Farrugia said.

This neglect was leading to senior officials at the ministry losing heart and transferring to other ministries. It was amazing that the Prime Minister was leaving the responsibility of the ministry in the same hands.