The Nationalist Party has said that it is "not acceptable" that "there is no stability in basic and essential services," such as roads, electricity, health services, and clean beaches without sewage.
This point was iterated by PN leader Bernard Grech after he remarked how workers and businesses are suffering from avoidable crises being experienced across the Maltese islands.
Grech met with the Malta Council for Economic and Social Development (MCESD) on Monday. A statement about the meeting read that the Opposition has called for the country to have infrastructure that supports sustainable economic growth and provides added value. The Nationalist Party elaborated that this requires providing people on the Maltese islands with a wide selection of jobs, to the point where every person can find a well-paid job, irrespective of what kind of skills they may have.
Grech said that the country must address the need for economic growth through "a serious plan," including in electricity distribution. He had provided this point to members of MCESD during the meeting between them and a PN delegation.
To do this, he said that "our country needs to have solid infrastructure, be credible, and be able to anticipate future challenges" with actions that must start being taken today. During this meeting, Grech stated that the success of the Maltese islands also depends on the members of MCESD.
The PN leader stated that the MCESD knows how certain situations arise in the country, why they arise, the national context surrounding them, and what needs to be done to strengthen Malta's competitiveness. He said that MCESD also holds the knowledge to know how to boost national competitiveness while increasing local and foreign investment and create more well-paid and dignified jobs for workers.
Grech stated that his party's policy is a pro-active one which ensures stability, economic growth, social improvement, healthy people, and educational advancement that promotes critical thinking and a more skillful people.
The Nationalist Party leader added that his party wishes for the country to have health services that provide an efficient service and ends delays. He highlighted the importance of health services and said that adequate health helps each person reach their potential, while being productive.
The PN described how they want their economic, financial, and social policy to help people have a good quality life where people can enjoy where they live, be physically and mentally healthy, and plan for the future.
"The crises are bringing the Government's back to the wall, and therefore, its reactions are thoughtless," the PN said.
As examples of this criticism, Grech mentioned how the Government says it wishes to increase the number of electric vehicles, though said that electric vehicles are partly at cause for the recent power cuts and electrical problems. Other examples were of the shore-to-ship project - that at times it is described as a way to help competitiveness, though was also pinned as a cause for the recent electrical problems - and the government's wish not to harness diesel, only to bring in diesel generators.
During the meeting with the MCESD, PN leader Bernard Grech was accompanied by his deputy leader Alex Perici Calascione, as well as Shadow Ministers Ivan Castillo, Alex Borg, Beppe Fenech Adami, Graham Bencini, Jerome Caruana Cilia, Ryan Callus, Mario de Marco, Robert Cutajar, and Rebekah Borg.