Opposition leader Adrian Delia continued to pick holes in the government’s aid package for businesses on Saturday, saying the issues raised were not being taken seriously enough.

“The government is not doing what it should be so I had to do meet the social partners myself. This is not an election campaign but a national crisis. 

“That is why I brought everyone to the table. This government is showing that it does not know how to act,” Delia said during an interview on NETFM. 

Since the government unveiled its aid package for businesses struggling to keep afloat amid the coronavirus pandemic on Wednesday, Delia has repeatedly said the measures would not be enough to help those whose livelihood has been impacted by the outbreak. 

“The government is incompetent when it comes to managing its finances. Even the social partners are saying these are half-baked measures. There is not a single body or union that believes the government’s efforts will work,” Delia said. 

The Opposition leader said that as a result, the bodies have started making the PN’s proposals their own.

Delia also criticised the government for refusing to hold an urgent debate in parliament on the novel coronavirus, despite this being something that was being done in practically every country around the globe. 

Parliament subsequently debated the issue earlier this week. 

The PN, Delia said, was doing its part by trying to help people who have either lost their jobs or who have certain goods which they now cannot sell because their usual buyers are not operating their business. 

“We had someone come to us because he had fruit and vegetables which he usually sells to hotels. But with no tourists, the hotels no longer need the supply.

"We intervened to help him find someone else who could buy the goods,” Delia said. 

He also reiterated his appeal to the government to ensure healthcare workers and those on the front line are provided with whatever they require to do their jobs.