Opposition Leader Bernard Grech likened the ethics breach involving Gozo and Planning Minister Clint Camilleri and Tourism Minister Clayton Bartolo to "Sinbad and the 40 thieves". He remarked that it is a disgrace that the ministries are being operated in this way on a daily basis.

The Nationalist Party Leader was speaking during a budget discussion in Parliament in relation to the Ministry for Gozo on Monday.

Grech was referring to a recent report published by the Standards Commissioner in which the two ministers were found to have abused their power. Ministers Clayton Bartolo and Clint Camilleri were found by the Standards Commissioner to have abused their power when Bartolo's then-girlfriend Amanda Muscat was given a job she had no qualifications for, and did not do.

The tourism and Gozo ministers respectively were found to have failed to administer public funds diligently, Standards Commissioner Joseph Azzopardi said in a report which was published by the parliamentary ethics committee. Azzopardi found that Amanda Muscat, now Bartolo's wife, was first promoted from being Bartolo's personal assistance to his consultant with an increased salary of almost €62,000 and, later, this was upped to €68,000 when she moved to Camilleri's ministry in 2021. The 40-page report showed that Muscat did not have the necessary qualifications for the job and did not do consultancy work. By and large she continued to work as Bartolo's private secretary, with a consultant's salary, even when she was employed with Camilleri.

Grech, addressing Parliament, said that for the PN, Gozo is a priority, but that the word priority does not have the same meaning as it does for the Labour Party. He remarked that Prime Minister Robert Abela only pretends to have Gozo and the Gozitans at heart, but said that aside from all the theatrics, the government looks people in the face and makes a fool out of them.

Speaking further on the ethics breach report, Grech said that the people are disgusted because Ministers Camilleri and Bartolo chose to pretend to make Muscat a consultant within the Gozo Ministry and paid her a salary for a job where she never needed to show up. "That's what this government is, but then it does all it can to buy your vote. Do you know why? So they can continue stealing," Grech commented.

He continued that despite this scandal seeming "not that big" next to the hospitals scandal, it still hits the essence of what the Maltese and Gozitan people are feeling. He said that the people are telling the government to stop treating them as imbeciles, and commented that it cannot be that the government can spit in the people's faces and then apologise. Grech commented that if the government ever had political decency, it has now become a group which only meets to see how it can continue stealing from the people for its benefit.

Grech said that ever since the election, the PL has kept behaving arrogantly and looking at the people as an object to keep using. He remarked that the government has continued to pig out. "Everyone pigs out," he said, referring to a statement previously made by PL MP Rosianne Cutajar.

"€70,000 for doing nothing," he said. He compared what Muscat was earning to other jobs such as that of a police officer, a nurse, and a teacher. He said that these people have to work years to earn that kind of money, but that Muscat made it by doing nothing.

"Business as usual, says the Prime Minister, nothing to see here. They will keep doing this," Grech commented. "The people are telling you that this is it, they cannot stand you any more." He urged anyone discontented with the government to speak out and to "stop speaking behind each other's backs".

The Opposition Leader reiterated that for the PN, Gozo is a priority. He said that the PN cannot permit a Minister "who steals €70,000 from Gozo's budget to give it out to a friend-and-then-wife of another Minister". He continued that Muscat was supposed to be a consultant, and questioned what she helped Camilleri with in her job capacity. "What did she help you with? Fixing the roads in Gozo? Addressing the big problems that people and children with disabilities in Gozo have? Giving you advice about how to truly make Gozo a priority? What made you decide to make her a consultant?"

Having said that, Grech continued that Muscat had no competencies or qualifications to be Camilleri's consultant. He then commented that the Gozo Minister said that he did not even know that she was appointed as a consultant within his Ministry. Grech said that if this is the case, then this concerns him even more as it would mean that Camilleri does not know what is going on in his Ministry or who is supposed to be helping him.

Grech urged the permanent secretaries to pay attention to what is going on and "take decisions to not allow these thieves to continue stealing the people's money, your children's money, the money of those who suffer and pay taxes". He remarked that the job of permanent secretaries is to do the right thing and that if they do not do so, then they are accomplices.

He said that the Prime Minister is complicit and that if he did not know of such deals when they were made, then he surely became aware sometime after and still did not take any steps. Grech said that no steps were taken because Abela is a "weak and compromised Prime Minister". He said that Abela has so much to hide that he has to shut his mouth and let everything go on or else he would be revealed.

Budget 2025 builds on preceding budget - Gozo minister

Gozo Minister Clint Camilleri said that Budget 2025 builds upon the preceding budget and will continue to strengthen families as well as confirm that what was promised to the people is given and will continue to be given.

He spoke about the leaked PN pre-budget document and said that it had no specific measures for Gozo.

Camilleri said that the government has transformed Gozo to its current state where it has the lowest recorded level of unemployment, and added that Gozo continues to attract thousands of Maltese and foreign tourists throughout the year.

Camilleri spoke about traffic in Gozo, saying that the issue of traffic in Gozo is limited and concentrated in Victoria. He continued that the government has established a new junction "so that the bottleneck is eliminated once and for all so that this road can serve as an alternative road that leads out of Victoria".

Continuing on this topic, he said that the traffic in Victoria needs to be reduced, and so the government started work on Triq Gorg Pisani. He stated that this road will serve as an alternative road for those who are coming and going from Marsalforn and that once this road is completed, it will eliminate the need for someone to go through the centre of Rabat to get to Marsalforn. He said that this is part of the plan to get traffic out of the centre of Victoria and added that plans were revised after discussions with entities such as Din L-Art Helwa and the Gozo Business Chamber.

Camilleri also spoke of improved connectivity through the use of an additional ferry for Gozo which significantly increased the number of yearly trips to Gozo as well as an improved fast ferry service for expedited trips. He added that the government has also implemented a second fibre optic cable to drastically improve digital connectivity, and remarked that the government will not stop here when it comes to connectivity for Gozo.

With that said, he spoke of the government's plans for the airfield in Gozo and said that the Ministry has the necessary permits to build the first airfield of its kind on the island. He said that this facility has attracted interest from companies interested in skydiving and drone testing, among other fields.

He commented that it is still unknown whether the PN is in favour or against this project, and questioned how it can be argued that the Opposition is in favour of connectivity if it has not taken any position in regard to the airfield project.

The Gozo Minister said that tourism in Gozo remains a primary pillar. He remarked that the challenge of seasonality has been addressed and that tourism establishments can now work year-round, no longer having to close their doors during winter.

With what appeared to be his only mention of the ethics breach report, Camilleri said that the work he discussed would not have been possible without the coordinated contribution of many workers within the Ministry for Gozo and its entities. "Although sometimes they are under attack, as we saw today during the discourse of the Opposition Leader. I know and appreciate the work and dedication of each of these workers," he commented.

Camilleri concluded that Budget 2025 will continue incentivising sustainable economic growth in Gozo.

A chapter in the Budget

PN's Spokesperson for Gozo, Alex Borg, said that under a Nationalist administration, Gozo would have a chapter in the budget "as it deserves". He commented that the government does not care about Gozo, "and one must ask why".

"Tomorrow morning, when Gozitans wake up for work, one will surely find that the health services in Gozo are still lacking. If you are a youth, you will have to go work in Malta because you have no such opportunities in Gozo. We do not know what happened with the new court building. Our roads, residential and arterial, are in a disastrous state, and above all, if you are a Gozo resident, you find yourself feeling like a second-class citizen."

Borg said that the Maltese and Gozitan people were not just robbed of their money when it comes to the €400 million spent on the hospitals deal, but that it still remains unknown if the government has the political will to bring that money back.

He remarked that this is the third time that the government has promised a hospital for Gozo, with Health Minister Jo Etienne Abela having said that the first phase will be completed by March 2025. Borg questioned what this phase consists of as well as what the total time would be for all the phases. He questioned what procurement process was done.

With that in mind, the PN MP commented that this situation is "nothing but a PR stunt for the Health Minister". He remarked that Gozitans have already been betrayed twice, "but the PN will not allow them to be betrayed a third time".

Borg concluded that the PN is determined to give new hope to Gozo and offer a new route for Gozo to stand on its feet as it deserves.