Busuttil slams government's 'short-term' economic vision, 'inaction on traffic problems'

“I will have enough time tomorrow to focus on this and more, but mostly I will focus on what really interests the people,” Muscat said, referring to his speech tomorrow evening.

“I will point out his economic mistakes,” he added.

Turning to PL supporters, Busuttil said the PN could give people more. Miriam Dalli

Busuttil also alleged that Cardona was in business with his chief of staff, something which Cardona also denied.” He went on to accuse Ian Borg “of taking advantage of an elderly man when buying a property”.

He referred to the Café Premier saga, insisting that Muscat facilitated the €4.2 million bailout without knowing what he was going to do with the property; Busuttil said that despite the Gaffarena scandal, junior minister Michael Falzon had refused to resign.

“Truth is that these people were corrupted from the opposition.”

“What a rude man,” Fearne was heard shouting as Busuttil said that “truth hurts”.

Busuttil said Luciano Busuttil’s wife had been employed with the Gaming Authority while Silvio Schembri’s wife was working full-time with the MFSA. Stefan Buontempo’s brother was a member of the Housing Authority’s board – as Buontempo shouted ‘not true’ – while Caruana’s husband was a member of the board of governors of the Financial Intelligence Unit. Toni Abela was a consultant on various matters.

He says that “Muscat’s friends at Super One” where all employed with the government, including Norman Hamilton who was now Malta’s High Commissioner and Ray Azzopardi as permanent representative to the EU.

Welcoming the home delivery of medicines, Busuttil said he hoped they won’t get stuck in traffic.

Quoting a MaltaToday story, Busuttil said a breast cancer sufferer required a medicine – LAPATINIB – that cost €3,000 a month. “There are 28 countries in Europe that offer this medicine free. Why not in Malta if the economy is doing so well? Cancer treatment should be given free to all.”

Busuttil said the Opposition was against “what was going on” at the Gozo General Hospital while questioned while only donations to the MCCF would be tax exempted whilst ignoring all other charities.

Even tourism was being taxed, he adds – referring to the €0.50c environmental contribution to be paid per bed night, capped at €5.

He reiterates that the fuel burden was one of the issues negatively affecting families.

Under the PN administration, the mean wage used to increase by an average of €500. It was now increasing by €200. “Real wages after inflation are less than those registered during the last year of a PN administration.”

On pensions, he says that the government was “increasing the retirement age” while insisting that pensions had increased along the years. “I will be retiring at 66 not 65 thanks to this government!”

He says little was done to address the 100,000 people in poverty or at risk of poverty or social exclusion.

He reminds a proposal he floated during last year’s budget when he proposed that all school children should be given free access to public transport.

He expresses disappointment at government delay with the Malta-Gozo tunnel. “This government had a feasibility study, done by the previous administration. But Muscat wanted to waste three years in studying a bridge, only to come back proposing the tunnel again … doing the same thing we wanted to do. This is hard-headedness that made us lose three years. We’re now back to square one. It is clear that this government has no plan for traffic.”

Busuttil says shadow transport minister Marthese Portelli will be working on short-term proposals on traffic while PN spokesperson Tonio Fenech is being tasked with a long-term strategy for alternative means of transport.

He said that, for every weekly €30 spent on petrol, “consumers were robbed €8.50”. “The PN believes that consumers should not benefit from cheaper prices when oil prices fall.”

The traffic problem, he says, had worsened: “Indeed it’s not a perception but a procession. Traffic is costing the economy €300 million. Where is your roadmap? Was it lost in traffic?”

Busuttil says the traffic woes were a result of those handling Transport Malta, that include former Labour CEO James Piscopo and deputy leader Toni Abela as consultant.

“You broke Arriva and a public transport service just for pique. You damaged the people’s trust in the public transport service. How can you expect people to trust it? You introduced a new company, just to increase its subsidies to €30 million.”

Busuttil insists that the government could not reduce tariffs because it had bound itself to buy electricity from Electrogas at 9c6 per unit for 18 years.

“Why do we even need a new power station? Because it is an irresponsible government that has also agreed to a take-or-pay policy.

“There’s only one reason: without the power station, Muscat will have to resign.”

The Opposition leader announced that, if elected prime minister, he would buy electricity from the cheapest source – that is, he would not honour the 18-year-contract the Labour administration has bound itself to.

“He is risking a property bubble,” he warns, adding that even ODZ was no longer ODZ. “We are not against development but we want sustainable development.”

The PN has suggested that ODZ land should have an equal value to developed land.

“Is this the government’s solution? Is this its economic vision? It is short-sighted.”

Busuttil says the manufacturing industry was suffering and it was not true that it was improving. “There is no economic vision to create new economic niches. We diversified the economy and one would have expected the Labour government to do the same.”

“Not one sector was created … with the exception of the sale of passports.”

Busuttil says “it was big” that the government was taking credit for positive tourism results. “This is also the result of a PN administration’s decision to introduce low-cost airlines. We need to have a long-term vision, including what’s going to happen when EU funds stop in 2020.”

“Where are the capital projects of this government? Renzo Piano? Interconnector? Oncology centre? Coast Road? Flood-relief project? No, because these are all projects of the PN administration.”

According to Busuttil, expenditure is being diverted to wages, salaries, allowances, consultancies and in no small amounts. Since 2013, 5,500 workers were employed with the civil service, he added.

Busuttil says that, thanks to the EU package negotiated by the PN, a total of €900 million would be spent between 2014 and 2018.

Reiterating the mistake taken by the Finance Ministry in uploading the wrong document, Busuttil said there was a difference of 50 measures between the two documents.

“This shows this was no mistake at all,” he says, criticising the government of having been “a miser” with persons with disability and the government’s choice of giving Gozitan students €300, instead of €800.

He points out the working document suggested an increase in police presence in tourist areas, including Paceville, but this did not make it to the final budget: “The Prime Minister had a choice, and he chose the few.”

Simon Busuttil will then join Saviour Balzan on Reporter, live from Parliament.