The success that Malta is experiencing is down to the policies drafted and implemented by the Nationalist Government and the opportunities that these bring about, said Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi yesterday.
Dr Gonzi was speaking during a party activity held at the PN club in Balzan yesterday, which was also attended by Environment and Rural Affairs Minister George Pullicino and Health Minister Louis Deguara.
Dr Gonzi made reference to European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso’s visit to Malta on Friday where he said that he recognised the strides that Malta had taken to improve its economy and in doing so had qualified to join the eurozone.
These comments, said the Prime Minister contradict the claims made by opposition leader Alfred Sant who had been trying to paint a ‘disastrous’ picture of the state of affairs in Malta for a number of years. He said that the last three years (during which time Malta has been an EU member) showed that the country has a voice and is respected within the union.
He also criticized the MLP leader’s speech in parliament to Mr Barroso, saying that the content of it, as well as Dr Sant’s recent performance on Bondi+ confirmed the superficiality of both himself and his arguments.
Dr Gonzi said that Dr Sant showed that he did not know how Malta was achieving the success that it is and that he did not have enough knowledge on government initiatives such as the fact that there are no VAT charges on education and the various measures taken to soften the surcharge burden.
He said that the labour leader had already made Malta a laughing stock on two other occasions when he froze the country’s European Union membership application as well as withdrawing Malta from the Partnership for Peace programme.
Dr Gonzi said the fact of the matter were that the European Union itself had stated that the achievements of Malta were not only credible, but also sustainable. He said that the most important thing for the people of Malta and Gozo were the initiatives that the government was pressing ahead with to improve quality of life.
Speaking about irregular immigration, Dr Gonzi said: “The Nationalist Party has always believed that people should be at the centre of its policies. This is why any person that is in difficulty at sea should be rescued,” he said.
He emphasized on the issue of Malt’s search and rescue responsibilities within its territorial waters and said the real problem was in how to treat immigrants in a way that respects their sense of dignity. He said that Malta had put forward its proposals for burden sharing within the EU in regard to irregular immigration.
Health Minister Louis Deguara spoke about the Mater Dei Hospital. He said that the new hospital and equipment should serve to continue to improve health services and that they are tailor made to the needs of patients. He also said that the government was committed towards offering better community care services.
Environment Minister George Pullicino said that the government was still working hard on the environment front and was expected to continue to do so for some time. “We have implemented various projects that have helped improve the quality of life of people in Malta and Gozo,” he said. Mr Pullicino said that improvements included better air quality, the creation of recreational spaces, an effective recycling system and reducing the amount of vehicular pollution.