PN would set up police-army task force on drug and human trafficking

Opposition leader Alex Borg said a Nationalist government would set up a joint police and army task force to tackle irregular migration, drug trafficking and human trafficking.

Addressing a political activity in Paola on Thursday evening, the Nationalist Party leader said the task force would be given the resources and intelligence needed to keep Malta’s borders under control.

During his address, Borg elaborated on several proposals he had announced earlier in the day, focusing on population, immigration and security.

“A new Nationalist government will employ this taskforce so that there will be control on illegal immigration and on certain organised crime and like that Maltese and Gozitan families will be safe living in our country," Borg said.

The proposed task force would bring together the police and the Armed Forces of Malta. Borg said it would be tasked with tackling drug trafficking, human trafficking and irregular migration.

He said Malta’s size should be an advantage for the authorities, allowing them to keep abreast of what was happening at the country’s borders.

Borg said the task force would be supplied with the necessary human resources and intelligence to ensure it operated effectively.

During the same activity, Borg also repeated other proposals announced earlier on Thursday.

These included the setting up of an independent immigration appeals board overseen by the judiciary, as well as the creation of a population authority.

He also said that, under a Nationalist government, foreign workers in client-facing jobs would be given basic training in Maltese during their first year in Malta .

“This is the least thing we Maltese and Gozitans can do. Because if we Maltese and Gozitans don’t safeguard the Maltese language, who will?”

At the end of his speech, Borg rallied supporters, saying his party was offering a breath of fresh air and a more positive style of politics.

Looking directly into the camera, he urged those following the event from home not to allow others to influence their vote.

“Don’t let anyone else decide for you, be the protagonists of our country’s future.”

Borg also appealed to Labour supporters who, he said, did not want to see 18 years of Labour in government.

He said now was the time to support the Nationalist Party, adding that Labour supporters could work with the PN and that Castille’s doors would be open to everyone under a Nationalist government.

Borg was joined by the PN’s fourth district candidates, Bernice Bonello, Duncan Borg Myatt, Stefan Caruana, Michael Piccinino and Mark Anthony Sammut.