Illegal Armier boathouses on Gonzi's agenda

If the Nationalist Party is re-elected to government it would find a solution to the illegal boathouses in Armier and legislate on the issue if necessary, PN leader Lawrence Gonzi said during a televised press conference in which he presented the party's 70 candidates.

Asked whether the PN would stand by the agreements it reached with the Armier Developments Limited - a company representing the Armier squatters - in 2003 and 2008, Gonzi said: "Yes we will honour and respect all commitments."

He added that despite his government's efforts to find a solution to the problem, the Malta Planning and Environment Authority had failed to find a solution. However, he insisted, if re-elected a PN administration would seek to resolve the issue.

Standing in front of the PN's 70 candidates contesting the 9 March election, Gonzi described the candidates as "the party's ambassadors who will relay the party's message to the electorate." 30% of the candidates will be contesting elections for the first time, while 19% are women.

"The PN electoral programme has concrete proposals built on what we have achieved in the last five years and answers the most fundamental question voters are asking: Why should you vote for the PN?"

He stressed that the electorate can put its mind at rest with the PN because they know where they stand with the party.

Gonzi added that he is "convinced that the electorate is capable of making the right decision as it has done in previous elections" and after listing his administration's successes the PN leader said: "Is this enough? No, we have to build on our successes and make sure that we do not put at risk these achievements."

He then warned that Labour "is putting your future at risk. On the other hand the Nationalist Party does not experiment with your future. We do not put your future and the country's future at risk."

Gonzi said that unlike Labour that has yet to publish its electoral manifesto, despite candidate nominations closing today, the PN had "put its cards on the table" and published its proposals, the costings and where would the funds come from.

Replying to questions by the press, Gonzi reiterated his outright condemnation on all forms of corruption however failed to explain why the alleged corruption at Enemalta was not being investigated by a magisterial enquiry, although such inquests are carried out for offences of minor magnitude.

"I have condemned corruption unconditionally all throughout my political career and we have always passed on any report of corruption, anonymous or not, to the authorities to investigate," Gonzi said

Pressed to explain why was a magisterial inquiry had not been ordered into the alleged corruption at Enemalta, Gonzi said that, at this stage, the Police should be allowed to do their jobs with the powers granted to them by law and further inquiries would be opened following the conclusion of Police investigations.

Asked whether candidates had been screened to avoid the internal rebellion led by Nationalist MP Franco Debono and Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando, Gonzi said he was proud of the PN team and all candidates were screened. So much so, Gonzi said,  that a few persons who were facing judicial problems were left out of the list.

Gonzi sidelined a question on whether he still had confidence in transport minister Austin Gatt who yesterday handed in a statement to the Police in relation to investigations on Enemalta's oil procurement.

The Prime Minister said he would not go into the merits of such cases while pointing out that Gatt was not running the PN electoral campaign alone, but made part of a team of persons running the campaign.

Gonzi also said that despite the PN is lagging behind in opinion polls, he promised that he would continue to do his utmost till the very last minute to ensure that the party wins the next election.