Labour leader Alfred Sant yesterday gave an outline of 20 of what he said were cases of corruption and abuse that occurred under the Nationalist government.
Addressing a mass rally at the party headquarters in Hamrun, Dr Sant said he could go on forever about the government’s cases of corruption and like other members of the Labour Party who addressed the rally, promised that should it be elected to government, the MLP will not tolerate any form of abuse.
Flanked by the group of Labour candidates standing for the 8 March general election, Dr Sant said the MLP family has always worked as a team.
“We are friends, but if anyone messes up, we will have no choice but to put the national interest first and foremost. We will tolerate no form of abuse or corruption,” he insisted.
Earlier on during the rally, party secretary general Jason Micallef revealed a letter, which he said was issued yesterday by former Nationalist MP Carmel Cacopardo, who was recently appointed AD spokesman for sustainable development.
Mr Micallef quoted the AD spokesman as saying that he had a letter that said that Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi was well aware about certain serious cases of corruption.
The MLP secretary general said that Mr Cacopardo added that he was not going to publish the letter as a sign of respect towards his source.
Mr Micallef went on to quote the AD spokesman as saying that he left the PN because he lost confidence in the party under the leadership of Dr Gonzi.
The PN leader, who is asking citizens to trust the country in his safe hands, failed to do anything about these cases of corruption, even though he knew exactly what was going on, said Mr Micallef.
Dr Sant went a step further and gave a list of 20 of the government’s cases of corruption, which the MLP has been harping on about over the last few months.
He mentioned, among others, the case of bribery at the Malta Transport Authority, the Malta Maritime Authority and the Department of Social Security, as well as corruption at Mater Dei Hospital, abuse at Voice of the Mediterranean and the Law Courts cleaning contract, which had been awarded to relatives of convicted drug trafficker Mario Camilleri.
“I could go on forever about all these cases of corruption and abuse. And yet nothing has ever been done about them. It is just as if nothing ever happened,” he said.
Dr Sant said the government ministers have burnt out and yet they keep doing all they can to cling on to power.
“The government is characterised by abuse of power, conflicts of interest, corruption and incompetence. The MLP can provide a sense of hope to all those who have lost it under the PN leadership.”
Like Labour deputy leaders Charles Mangion and Michael Falzon, who also addressed the rally, Dr Sant repeated the MLP’s promises to remove income tax from any hours of overtime and cut the surcharge on utility bills by half.
He asked how come Dr Gonzi had now come up with the promise to narrow the income tax bands from 35 to 25 per cent for high income earners.
“Why did Dr Gonzi not introduce such a measure earlier, when, according to him, the country’s finances were secured? Is it not more important to cut the surcharge by half for everyone, like the MLP is proposing?”
Dr Mangion also spoke about the MLP’s promises to control the cost of living, strengthen the social services and continue to provide a health service that is free of charge for everyone.
He also questioned how come Dr Gonzi had so far failed to reply to his question regarding VAT, saying he had not yet provided a guarantee that the rate would not be changed from 18 to 25 per cent.