The Nationalist Party’s scaremongering and their lies were expected, but the MLP is going to carry on speaking about its proposals, which are serious and achievable, said Labour leader Alfred Sant.

Replying to questions put by Simone Cini during Il-Hadd ma’ l-Ahbar on One Radio yesterday morning, Dr Sant said “GonziPN is like a hen, hatching a lie every day”.

Speaking about the MLP’s proposal to cut the surcharge on utility bills by half, Dr Sant said that according to PN leader Lawrence Gonzi, the proposal would only apply to people who own a swimming pool.

He said this was nothing but a lie, since the surcharge on utility bills has affected everyone.

He said the MLP’s aim was not only to give people more purchasing power, but also to invest in alternative sources of energy.

“This will be one of our priorities and we plan to be able to generate 20 per cent of the country’s energy from alternative sources within five to 10 years,” he said, adding that incentives for the use of such sources of energy are currently lacking.

Asked about the health sector, Dr Sant said the PN was now also copying the Labour Party’s proposals.

“They now said waiting lists for operations would be eliminated completely. What we are saying is realistic. We will shorten waiting lists by 15 per cent every year and this will be done by better organisation of the whole health system,” he said, adding that this is achievable, as evidenced in other European countries.

The management of the health system has to be efficient and more resources are required, said Dr Sant, adding that it was also a lie that the PN had been insisting it would continue to provide free health care.

“Documents that have also been discussed at Cabinet level show that the PN had plans to either introduce new taxes or put a charge on health care services,” he said.

The Labour leader went on to speak about the elderly, saying that the MLP wants to be able to reduce the fees paid by people living in residences for the elderly.

At the moment they have to pay a fee equivalent to 80 per cent of their pension and the MLP is pledging to reduce this to 65 per cent.

“We believe this is much more reasonable and we want to increase the support we give to the elderly in the community. We are a caring country and society, so we should strengthen this caring community.

“We also want to extend the concept of day centres and introduce the concept of night centres, as well as the idea of fostering or adoption of elderly people. The idea is to have families volunteering to care for an elderly person in a spirit of solidarity and this could be done at a low cost in collaboration with local councils and voluntary groups,” said Dr Sant.

He said he believed it was very important for your people to come into close contact with elderly people. It’s a two-way process; the elderly need to be made to feel they are useful in society, said the Labour leader.

Dr Sant then went on to speak about the party’s proposals for young people. He mentioned the proposal to build a new sixth form in the northern part of the island, due to over-crowding that is not providing for good enough and direct tuition.

He said the party also plans to reform the primary school sector in a way that students’ development compares well with that in other European countries.

The Labour leader also mentioned the party’s plan to strengthen vocational training structures, remove VAT on education and have students engage in at least five hours of physical activity every week.

As for young couples, a new MLP government would help them by means of a grant and better interest rates, said Dr Sant.

“And if the breadwinner of the family ends up unemployed, a moratorium on interest payments will be applicable for a year,” he said.

Concluding, Dr Sant again mentioned cases of corruption and abuse of power in the PN government, saying no form of abuse will be tolerated under a Labour government.

“The PN has now unsurprisingly resorted to scaremongering and lies. Dr Gonzi is now sidelining his ministers, but we will carry on speaking about our positive agenda, which includes a number of economic, social and cultural proposals that are realistic and doable.”