Nationalist Party Leader Bernard Grech has called on Prime Minister Robert Abela to demand Justyne Caruana’s resignation as Education Minister immediately. 

This comes following the revelation by the Standards Commissioner George Hyzler who found Education Minister Justyne Caruana guilty of having breached ethics when her ministry gave a €15,000 contract to former footballer Daniel Bogdanovic. 

During a brief interview on NET FM on Sunday, Grech highlighted that as Education Minister, Caruana should be leading by example and prioritising the interests and needs of educators. 

Grech also called on the immediate publication of the Standards Commissioner’s report, despite Caruana’s inability to publish the report. The reports of the Standards Commissioner are handed only to the Speaker of the House and never made available to the person under investigation. 

He noted how a teacher earns a salary of around €1,800, whilst a close friend of the Minister earns €5,900 a month. 

Grech stressed that as was the case of Rosianne Cutajar, “Robert Abela should be politically responsible and remove Justyne Caruana rather than focus on escaping the problem and the reality.”

Speaking about the Times of Malta interview with MFSA’s new CEO Joseph Gavin were which he walked out of the interview over objections to the line of questioning, Grech claimed that this attitude is a reflection and synonym of the attitude adopted by the government. 

“This attitude clearly shows that the choices made by the government will certainly not help improve Malta’s reputation,” Grech said.

With regard to the Covid-19 pandemic, Grech stressed that the first priority should be to take care of one another. 

Grech urged the government to be more transparent in the data it presents and decisions taken so as not to lose the confidence and trust exhibited by the public in this fight against the virus. 

Speaking about the cannabis law, Grech highlighted that the government is continuing to go above and beyond and ignoring the request of 53 organisations and individuals. This includes academics and emeritus president Marie Louise Coleiro Preca who appealed to the government to table amendments before the law is approved. 

A vote on the law is expected to be taken in Parliament on Tuesday.          

With regard to the cost of living in Malta, Grech noted that this problem seems to be getting worse as the government is choosing to ignore the problem. 

The PN has spoken to a number of people within this sector to identify how one can address this problem and improve the cost of living in Malta.