The Labour government is failing Malta in every sector it is responsible for, Opposition Leader Bernard Grech said on Sunday.
Speaking during an interview held on the PN’s NET TV, Grech said that the government is trying to portray the country’s current situation as “heaven on earth” when it is failing to keep the country moving forward.
Several stakeholders, including employers, industry and now even educators, are expressing their frustration about issues in the country, Grech said and the “tired” government lacks the vision and the initiative to solve these issues.
He cited people being turned away from operating theatres due to demand, the judiciary saying that the court system is on the verge of collapse and teachers striking over a pay dispute as some of the examples in which the government is “failing” Malta.
Grech cited growing population growth as the reason why the country’s resources are straining.
“When you increase the population without control and don’t invest in infrastructure, to paraphrase an old saying instead of having a hundred dogs for every bone, we have a hundred thousand,” Grech said.
“It is clear that we cannot keep adding to our population,” he continued.
“The people have a choice, stay with Robert Abela who will continue to import third-country nationals into the country in growing numbers every year, or look at the new economic model that we are proposing.”
The PN, Grech continued, is offering a new economic policy that will bring about “radical change”.
Citing the MUT’s planned strike on November 27, Grech said that educators are highlighting how next year’s budget is “irrelevant to education”.
“This means that in a country where employers are telling us that they are struggling to find skilled workers, we have a government that is not investing in education,” he said.
“Education is one of the most important sectors because we are investing in the only resource that we have, our youth.”
Speaking about the appeals court decision to uphold the nullification of the hospitals deal, Grech said that the government and its institutions have also failed the people by failing to take action after damning condemnation from the courts.
And while the country experienced “fraud and betrayal” at the hands of its own government, the PN has continued to pursue the matter in court to make sure that institutions do their duty.
“The police commissioner came out and told us that it is not his job to take further action in this situation, but if not his, if not the institutions then whose job is it?” Grech questioned.
He said the PN will remain at the forefront of the issue to continue defending the people’s best interest.