The Nationalist Party has tabled a motion of no confidence in Energy Minister Miriam Dalli, calling on her to resign from her position as Minister for Energy, the Environment and the Regeneration of the Grand Harbour or be axed from her ministerial role by the Prime Minister.

The motion also looks to “strongly censure” Miriam Dalli and for Parliament to declare its distrust in her following a spate of power outages being experienced across the country by thousands.

During Parliament’s plenary session on Wednesday, Opposition leader Alex Borg, together with the PN’s Shadow Minister for Energy and the Environment, Mark Anthony Sammut, tabled a motion of censure and no confidence in Energy Minister Miriam Dalli.

This motion, which came as a result of recent power cuts impacting many parts of the country in the past few days, was tabled to Parliament on Wednesday though will be discussed during a future plenary session.

The motion calls for three main points to be taken: for Parliament to strongly censure Minister Dalli, for the House of Representatives to express its distrust towards her in her role as Energy Minister, and to formally call for her resignation.

Most significantly, the PN wants Prime Minister Robert Abela to call for Dalli’s resignation and to immediately axe her from Cabinet should she not fail to hand in her resignation herself.

Through a statement, the Nationalist Party said that this motion “is based on the government’s serious failure to provide an essential service to the Maltese and Gozitan people, following weeks of repeated power cuts that left thousands of families and businesses without electricity for long hours at the height of summer.”

The PN noted that the recent power cuts are nothing new, reminding that “the same crisis occurred during the summer of 2023, when a similar motion was also tabled.” That summer, households that endured power cuts lasting at least six hours were able to claim between €60 and €110 in compensation for the damages caused, coming in the form of credit on utility bills.

In the summer of 2023, several households across the Maltese islands went long hours – for some, extending for days – without electricity due to these infrastructural issues amid strong summer heat.

The PN noted that this problem has persisted in spite of the government’s promises and substantial investment to bolster the electricity distribution network – which has been pinpointed as the cause, once again, for the recent series of power cuts – “with serious consequences for families, businesses, patients and vulnerable people.”

The parliamentary motion made reference to conclusions derived from an NAO report that identified serious shortcomings in Enemalta’s planning vis-à-vis this distribution network. This NAO report had concluded that the lack of investment in the electricity distribution network was the main cause of the power outage crisis endured by many.

The PN stated that the government has failed to plan for the country’s growing needs, “despite the substantial increase in both the population and demand for electricity.” It commented that as a result, national infrastructure has been left unable to keep up with “the reality created by the government itself.”

The Nationalist Party said that it believes that, given the scale of this national power cut crisis and its impact on people’s lives, “Minister Miriam Dalli has continued to refuse to shoulder political responsibility for the failure that occurred under her leadership.”

“The PN believes that a minister must shoulder political responsibility when failures within their portfolio lead to a national crisis that directly affects people’s lives and health,” the party said.

The Opposition concluded its statement by saying that the Maltese and Gozitan people deserve adequate, modern infrastructure, reliable services, and a government that takes responsibility for the decisions it takes.

The Nationalist Party confirms that its only interest is political gain – PL

The Labour Party replied by saying that the Nationalist Party's request for the resignation of Minister Miriam Dalli “confirms once again that in the face of every challenge the Opposition’s only interest is not to offer solutions, but to achieve political gain and demand resignations.”

“This is an old political tactic that the Nationalist Party has been embracing for years and that offers no solution for Maltese and Gozitan families and businesses,” the party said.

It said that the “truth is” that under the leadership of Minister Miriam Dalli the largest ever electricity distribution system investment programme is being carried out in Malta.

“She is the Minister under which the second interconnector project is being run to further strengthen the security of energy supply. She is also the Minister who secured a new energy supply agreement at the beginning of this legislature, which gave certainty to the country, while the Government continued to keep electricity and energy prices stable despite the high inflation prevailing in international markets,” the PL said.

The party said that “political maturity demands that in extraordinary circumstances during extreme weather and difficult conditions we should remain focused on assisting affected people and not falling into partisan play.”

It said that the Labour Government will remain focused on matters of people’s interest and that the Government shall invest, strengthens the country's infrastructure and continues to guarantee a stable energy supply and prices that remain stable for households and businesses.