Updated with PL, government statements
The Opposition will not be taking part in the debate on the estimates of the Water Services Corporation in protest at the debate being led by Minister Konrad Mizzi.
Opposition leader Simon Busuttil protested that Dr Mizzi, a minister without portfolio, was moving the debate on the subject for which he had been responsible before the reshuffle which had followed the Panama Papers scandal.
Dr Busuttil said the Opposition wanted to know if Dr Mizzi was really a minister without portfolio because the Opposition was suspecting that the reshuffle was just a messa in scena which does not mean anything.
Was Dr Mizzi still responsible for the water sector, he asked saying this was a legitimate question and the people had a right to know.
He said that the Opposition did not acknowledge the legitimacy of a person who opened a secret company in Panama to carry on business as usual and act as the minister responsible for same sector he should have lost responsibility for.
“The Opposition will not be taking part in the debate,” he said.
In a statement, the Labour Party described the Opposition’s behaviour as “pathetic” since it knew that the Prime Minister, who was responsible for the WSC was abroad on official duty.
In another statement, the government condemned the Opposition’s “irresponsible and shameful” behaviour in its decision not to take part in a debate which confirmed how much the government work and achieved in such an important sector.
Because it had nothing to offer in the sector, the Opposition opted to hinder the debate simply because the Prime Minister was away on official duty, the government said.
It said the results achieved in the sector included a €2 million landscaping project around the drainage treatment plant at Ta’ Barkat, a sustainable financial position for the corporation which made a profit of €6 million, a new collective agreement for workers, a new water project to be concluded by the end of the year and a reduction of more than €22 million in the corporation’s debts.