The American University of Malta was meant to attract thousands of students but so far is a phantom project, Nationalist Party leader Adrian Delia said on Wednesday.
Speaking in Zabbar as part of events celebrating the 55th anniversary of Independence, Delia said property in Cottonera had been passed on to people who have no experience in education. Together with PM Joseph Muscat, they promised a huge investment that would attract thousands of students, but this has not materialised.
People who are close to Muscat, including MP Glenn Bedingfield, are criticising the project, Delia said, expressing his party’s support to a statement issued by the PN’s Cospicua section against taking up the only open space in the locality for the university’s dormitory.
He said that more and more Maltese were angry at the arrogant way the government was leading the country. Instead of doing its best to see that the wealth generated reaches all sectors of society, the government is making distinctions between those who are close to it and the rest, Delia said.
The PN is in favour of investment when it is serious and will lead to the generation of wealth from which all of society benefits. This is what previous PN administrations did in education, financial services, pharmaceuticals, aviation, the maritime sector and others. These new sectors created jobs, Delia said.
But what Labour is doing, such as with the AUM, is not beneficial to the Maltese economy because they never reach the expectations made when they are launched, Delia said.