Bernard Grech: 'Every entity on Byron Camilleri's watch is tainted'

There isn’t one single government entity on Byron Camilleri’s watch that isn’t tainted with scandal, PN leader Bernard Grech stated on Friday. 

Speaking on Net FM, Grech was commenting on a number of scandalous allegations against government entities which fall under home affairs minister Byron Camilleri. 

The most recent scandal came on Friday as an urgent magisterial inquiry has been requested into an alleged multimillion euro racket involving top LESA officials, which fraudulently transferred penalty points incurred by Maltese drivers onto tourist rental cars.

Grech also spoke of Identità, which has been at the centre of countless allegations of fraudulently providing thousands of ID cards to foreign nationals.

On Friday, Grech stated that now is no longer the time to talk about shouldering political responsibility, as he had often called for Camilleri’s resignation. “Now is the time for a clean slate,” Grech said, explaining that a change in figureheads cannot solve Malta’s problems.

“We need to understand the desperate reality that every sector in the country is now in.” The PN leader told his audience that Malta needs “freedom from this imprisonment,” adding that a small group of people have taken over Malta and the Labour Party and decided to make the country their own.

Grech also spoke about the death of Stephen Mangion, who died this week in Mater Dei Hospital’s waiting room after complaining of severe chest pain. 

Grech said that this case shows how the price of corruption is high, as he blasted hollow promises made throughout the years in the health sector, such as the refurbishment of St Luke’s Hospital, the opening of a new hospital in Gozo, and the Paola health hub which is yet to open its doors.

Looking ahead towards the PN’s Independence Day celebrations, Grech stated that the 60th anniversary since Malta’s independence is a crucial milestone that one must ponder. He noted that throughout the upcoming days, it’s important to celebrate independence, but it’s much more crucial to “regain independence from this criminal rule.”