Labour leader in early morning Fgura trip for mounting ‘black dust’ campaign

Muscat today said Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi was forced to go back on previous claims that there was no problem of black dust in the south, by setting up a special parliamentary committee on the matter.

Muscat said the prime minister’s ‘volte-face’ was a “certificate of failure”.

Gonzi announced a motion to set up a parliamentary committee to discuss the source of the black dust. The PM said the dust had not reappeared since August last year, and “Mepa therefore had no samples to conduct further tests.”

In a press conference this morning outside the Fgura primary school, Labour leader Joseph Muscat said the committee was “a certificate of mediocrity, and a failure of the government executive.”

Muscat said Gonzi’s decision was a public stunt to deflect strong criticism from the public. “Beyond political colour, Gonzi’s declaration that the black dust problem did not exist is shocking when you consider the effect of the pollution on children’s and residents’ health in Fgura and other southern localities.”

Labour will be participating in the committee, but Muscat warned that the PL would not be an “accomplice of the authorities” in taking residents for a ride on the matter.