Nationalist Party leader Bernard Grech said on Tuesday that the PN, alongside NGOs, local councils and pressure groups, have succeeded in pressuring the government to finally stop the Marsascala yacht marina project.
Prime Minister Robert Abela announced on Tuesday that the plans for the controversial yacht marina project in Marsascala bay have been halted.
Addressing a political rally in St Julian's, Grech commended this decision, saying that the PN along with other entities that had expressed their position against the project 'have won for the benefit of the Maltese public.'
He accused the government of 'hijacking' not only land, but also the sea, condemning Abela's initial decision of developing a yacht marina in the bay.
Grech addressed the realities faced by businessmen and the public due to the FATF's greylisting of the country, saying that it is not a partisan issue.
"Every citizen is suffering due to the country's greylisting. We are not talking about the problem because it was created by the Labour government, but because it is negatively affecting the country," he said. Grech said that the greylisting will have lasting effects on the country even after Malta is taken off of it. Grech maintained that a PN government will remove Malta from the list within a period of three months.
He described some of the effects of greylisting, such as businesses not being able to open bank accounts, and notaries who are being given fines, 'as if they are criminals.'
He spoke about the PN's €1 billion proposal to create 10 new economic sectors.
"We will also use these funds to strengthen the pillars we have already built - such as the maritime sector," Grech said.
Grech mentioned e-sports, 3D printing and due diligence and compliance sectors as ones which deserve an opportunity and could attract foreign investors to open companies in Malta. This will subsequently create thousands of new jobs, he said.
"The first thing we will do is clean our country's name - it's easy to come up with proposals to spend money, but you have to keep generating money, and not continue to borrow," said Grech, accusing the Labour party of constantly borrowing money.
Grech said he believed in regeneration, noting that he has thanked MPs who have decided not to contest the forthcoming general election, commending them for acknowledging when to step back for newer faces to step forward.
The PN leader said the PN has done a lot of good for the country, such as pushing for IVF procedures to be available in Malta. He said that if the government does not fulfil its promise on refunding costs for IVF medicine, then the PN will do so.