Demolition of existing factories at Ricasoli, the site where the first units forming part of the SmartCity Malta project will be built, is expected to begin in mid-October, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said yesterday.
Dr Gonzi was speaking during an interview with One TV journalist Charlon Gouder at the Floriana Granaries, as part of the Nationalist Party’s Independence Day celebrations, which draw to a close this evening.
Mr Gouder’s first question, by means of which he asked what “Dr Gonzi would do should he be defeated at the forthcoming general election”, was immediately greeted with a good dose of disgruntlement from the sizeable audience.
Dr Gonzi started off by mentioning a number of the government’s achievements over the past term – particularly with regard to employment, education, health and infrastructure.
The Nationalist government’s leadership was characterised by sincerity and insight and citizens will have to choose in whose hands they want to trust the country that has come such a long way, said Dr Gonzi, adding that he believed citizens will again show confidence in the Nationalist Party at the forthcoming election.
Replying specifically to Mr Gouder’s question and a supplementary question on whether Dr Gonzi would resign should the PN lose the election, the Prime Minister said he would definitely respect the people’s decision and if he had to resign, he would not go back on his decision like Opposition Leader Alfred Sant did.
As he asked about what he referred to as “government failures”, Mr Gouder asked the Prime Minister to give him an exact date when the project at the Mgarr (Gozo) terminal would be ready.
Explaining the whole process that led to certain delays in the project, particularly the need to make it more adaptable, especially with regard to its financing, Dr Gonzi said the project is actually ready.
“All that’s left is the area where passengers would be able to comfortably board and disembark from the ferry. The project should be completed in the coming weeks,” he said.
As regards the Cirkewwa terminal, PM Gonzi said this was a totally different project that was awaiting approval to be financed by the EU, following which it would go ahead.
He mentioned, however, that EU financing meant that there also had to be some form of investment from the national government in question.
“It is thanks to the country’s improved finances and economic growth that we can apply for EU financing of this sort, which will also be available for many other projects awaiting EU approval,” he said, adding that such issues were Dr Sant’s failure, not the Nationalist Party’s.
It was at this point that Mr Gouder attempted to interrupt the Prime Minister, saying he had not asked a question related to the Labour leader, but Dr Gonzi reacted with a smile and said he was ready to answer any of Mr Gouder’s questions, but in return he expected him to listen to his replies.
Mr Gouder went on to speak about the Manwel Dimech Bridge reconstruction project, which he referred to as a “froga”, in other words a disaster, but Dr Gonzi said that he had a definition for “froga” – Dr Sant’s suggestion to devaluate the Maltese lira by 10 per cent.
“In a recent report by the International Monetary Fund, it was evident that devaluating your currency is the worst thing you can possibly do,” he said.
As for Manwel Dimech Bridge, Dr Gonzi said: “There were some mishaps and it will take a few weeks longer than expected to complete the project, but we will have a good bridge that will last a number of years because the work is of a very high standard.”
Towards the end, while thanking the One TV journalist for accepting the PN’s invitation to conduct the interview, Dr Gonzi said he would have liked Mr Gouder to ask more about specific policies and said he hoped “he would not waste another hour” when interviewed by Mr Gouder on a forthcoming programme on One TV.
He said he would also like to one day see the Labour Party speaking more about policies, rather than simply attacking the government; and when asked about the various government scandals that were revealed recently, Dr Gonzi said the Labour Party had no idea how harmful such allegations were.
The Prime Minister also expressed his concern that the Labour Party and Dr Sant specifically, would not accept his genuine appeal for the two parties to collaborate on certain issues of national interest that they both agreed upon.