PN alleges Labour newspaper received €30,000 in government ad spend

The Nationalist Party has accused the Labour administration of taking out what it claims are €30,000 in adverts for one single issue of the Labour Party’s newspaper, KullĦadd, commemorating the second year of the Abela administration.

Nationalist MP Claudette Buttigieg said government had paid the Labour party some €30,000 in adverts on the party newspaper KullĦadd on Sunday, 16 January, referring to a 32-page supplement with adverts from a number of ministers and ministries.

Buttigieg said each advert cost around €950 each, critisising the government for spending taxpayers’ money over political propaganda.

Mark Anthony Sammut, President of the Nationalist Party’s General Council said statistics published by the National Statistics Office depict a reality of an exponential rise in the cost-of-living in Malta.

“Inflation is a reality and it is creating difficulties for those at risk of poverty. The prices of essential items like food are going up every day. But government goes on a reckless spending spree, dishing out money to people close to the Labour party,” Sammut said, whilst mentioning Carmen Ciantar’s €163,000 contract and that of One TV presenter Karl Stagno Navarra with Air Malta.

Sammut said it was inconceivable that while Air Malta workers are facing redundnacies, Stagno Navarra has a lucrative contract with the airline. “It is evident that this government’s priority is not the Maltese. We want a government that is focused on improving people’s lives,” Sammut said.