Gonzi - 'I assume responsibility for the bus service - the buck stops here'

Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said today that he assumed responsibility for the bus service as prime minister. "I shoulder my responsibilities, the buck stops here," he said in Parliament.

Dr Gonzi said the same applied to the Cabinet because the bus reform was a PN electoral promise.

This, he said, was a reform which was not without its problems, but one needed to remember how complex it was.

At the opening of his speech, Dr Gonzi said that without diminishing the importance of this debate, it was worth noting the contrast with the situation in other countries, which were discussing the very survival of their economies.

Dr Gatt said the bus service reform belonged to Austin Gatt as much as it belonged to other members of the government since the bus reform was an important promise of the PN electoral programme.

One of the reasons for the reform was to reduce harmful emissions, in line with the government's commitment for cleaner air.

It was shameful, Dr Gonzi said, that the opposition motion claimed that the only positives in the new bus service were more courteous drivers and air-conditioned buses.

No one mentioned that all the buses were fully accessible to everyone, including the elderly and those with disabilities. No one mentioned that the buses now had Euro V engines  and the harmful emissions were no more. Had everyone forgotten the black clouds of smoke from the old buses?

The opposition said nothing about the huge progress in the bus service in Gozo.

The Opposition motion, therefore, was not honest with the real situation.

There was no denying that there were problems. That was why five changes had been made since July. But this was a reform after 40 years of the old system so why was the government being criticised?

Dr Gonzi said he assumed responsibility as Prime Minister. "The buck stops here," he said.

He would not let Dr Gatt assume responsibility on his own. This was a challenge for the government as a whole, a challenge which would be taken on.

The government was determined to see the reform through.

Dr Gonzi said Dr Gatt had offered to resign but he refused the resignation because responsibility for the reform was being assumed by all the ministers and they would see it through.

Charles Mangion on the TV programme TX had said that Dr Gatt should offer to resign and the prime minister should decide. He had decided, Dr Gonzi said, adding that he could not accept a resignation when works were still in progress.

The important thing was that the reform was successful, Dr Gonzi said. He also reiterated his offer for the setting up of a parliamentary committee on the bus service, on the lines of the committee on black dust. He regretted that the Opposition refused this offer.