(Adds PL statement)

The Opposition has appealed to the government to listen to the Chamber of Commerce and understand that the country’s administration was not there to balance the books but to do what was best for Maltese businesses and families now and in the future.

In a statement, the Nationalist Party expressed support with the concern expressed by the Chamber at the lack of fiscal morality being shown by the government.

Finance shadow minister Mario de Marco said the people were learning of scandals week after week with the Labour Party in government preferring itself or people close to it with grants, land transfers of scandalous payments in breach of all principles of transparency.

These included the Australia Hall, the Café Premier and the Gaffarena expropriation deal. People close to the party benefited from jobs created for them and were getting substantial salaries, while others, who lacked qualifications and meritocracy, took the jobs of people with much superior training and experience.

All this led to a strong expenditure by the government, which was trying to balance the books by selling ODZ land to speculators of all kinds. In two years, the government lost all sense of good governance both in public expenditure and environmental policy.

The Nationalist Party believed in the need for fiscal sustainability and when in government had committed itself to substantially reduce the country’s debt and deficit.

The people, Dr de Marco said, deserved much better than they were getting. They deserved a fair administration, transparency, meritocracy and discipline in public expenditure.

The government had failed in all this and the people were paying the price.

It was again replacing the private sector as the motor of the economy to the detriment of businesses, which were being faced with unfair competition, particularly from selected foreign partners, who were being given preference by the Prime Minister himself without any call being issued.

In a reply, the Labour Party said it would be well for the PN to understand the Chamber's statement having, when in government, burdened the country with the highest water and electricity bills in Europe, deteriorated the economy and been responsible for the biggest scandals with the people's money, such as Mater Dei.

The PL said it seemed PN leader Simon Busuttil was adopting a strategy of persisting in his errors rather than admit to them.