Opposition in missive against government

Less than 10 hours away from the crucial vote on the Budget Measures Implementation Bill, the Opposition is taking the last hours it have to give its opinion on the matter to criticise harshly government's work, insisting that the main fault in government's work is that it has "the wrong priorities".

Addressing the House this morning, Labour MPs Michael Farrugia and Roderick Galdes spoke at length on the government's deficit on health, education and work sectors.

First to take the floor, Farrugia said government's priorities were all inverted. "Was the building of a new Parliament House more important than investing in the health sector?" he asked.

"I don't know whether they wanted to try to fool the people, but the public is now suffering from the lack of planning that went into the designing of Mater Dei Hospital," he added.

Farrugia also said that while government was taking its time to add more beds to Mater Dei, yet the Malta Life Sciences Park was being given the hospital's helipad when this could have been used to add a new ward.

From the other side of the House, Fenech commented that what Farrugia was saying was incorrect.

Reacting to government's continuous attack on the Opposition over the cutting of stipends in 1996, Farrugia said that "stipends for students studying nursing were reduced under the GonziPN administration".

"How can government say it's all plain sailing when we have precarious employment? A government which boasts about creating 20,000 jobs when the figures are inflated ... a prime minsiter which boasts about the building of Smart City and yet his electoral promise of creating 7,000 jobs was not kept," he insisted.

Echoing the same sentiment, Galdes said that government's address to precarious employment was out of convenience and not out of conviction.

He also criticised that the budget bill vote was only being taken now, when it should have been approved at least two months ago.

"This is a surreal situation where government is trying to prove that it enjoys a majority in parliament, while the feeling of uncertainty goes on among the public," Galdes said.

"This is a budget that lacks any social spirit, with capital projects postponed and other promises shelved. This is a budget that is witness to the lack of deliverables from government."

Galdes went on to say that the budget "did nothing" to stimulate the financial situation of the nation, while the precarious situation within Air Malta went on with its employees not knowing what's going to happen next.

He said, that despite government's statement that the country's finances were strong, yet corporations like Enemalta - despite the increase in utility bills - could not make their ends meet.

Galdes, a MEPA employee and Labour's representative on the MEPA board, also said the planning authority had an €8 million deficit.