3 - 9 February 2000

Sant says government is planning more burdens

by Steve Chetcuti

The government is moving towards introducing new measures during the year and in the next budget which will place further burdens on the people, Labour leader Alfred Sant said yesterday.

Speaking to supporters during a social activity at the Golden Sands Hotel in Ghajn Tuffieha, Dr Sant warned of the effects the new measures would bring about, especially when taking into consideration the Budget 2000 consequences.

"In the past weeks, thousands of workers have been receiving lower wage packets than last year. But water, electricity and phone bills have not gone down but up," the Labour leader said.

He said these facts were proof of the deceit being carried out by the Nationalist Party administration led by Prime Minister Eddie Fenech Adami who recently claimed the budget measures were not negotiable.

And while the government was burdening people with more and more taxes, Dr Sant said, others were getting off scott-free.

He referred to the Manoel Island and Tigne projects for which the government had cancelled the millions of liri owed in stamp duty.

"We proposed a motion before parliament to force the consortia to pay the stamp duty but the government voted against it," Dr Sant said.

The Labour leader said this proved that the MLP was the party which held the interests of the people, workers, pensioners and self-employed at heart.

Dr Sant said the party general conference, held last week-end, stressed the MLP's intention to highlight issues which were wrong and urge the government to improve its operations.

"The prime minister has to get on his feet and work for the interests of the country, rather than maintain his obsession to join the European Union," Dr Sant said.

The Labour leader said the Opposition would support the government if the latter decided to implement projects which would generate employment for youths and older people who found themselves unemployed.

He also called on the government to set up the appropriate structure to help people in need, such as families which include a disabled person. Dr Sant urged the government to do as an MLP government would and set up such a project to help the disabled.

At the end of his brief speech, during which he was cheered on by the activists who numbered over a thousand, Dr Sant said the message being conveyed by the MLP had to be passed on for the interests of the nation.

He told the activists to go out and vote for all the Labour candidates during the local council elections which will be held on 11 March. This was the only way they could contribute to making a difference in the administration of their locality, Dr Sant added.