Malta, Times of Malta, Inglês

Nationalist Party leader Alex Borg said that a PN government under his leadership would add all oncological medicines to the government formulary, so that cancer patients would no longer need to “beg” for support to the Malta Community Chest Fund (MCCF).

During a political activity in Żejtun, Borg said that by adding cancer treatments to the government formulary list, not only will people no longer feel the need to plead their case to the MCCF for help, but the MCCF will be much better supported by not having to spend most of its budget on cancer medicines, as it does presently.

Borg stated that through this proposal, the MCCF will be better equipped to help people with other kinds of medical conditions. Borg added that through his father’s passing seven years ago, he personally understands how helpful the MCCF is. “God forbid the Malta Community Chest Fund wasn’t there to support cancer patients.”

He reminded viewers that historically, the Nationalist Party was the party that brought the pharmaceutical industry to Malta and invested in hospitals around the country, while the Labour Party was the one responsible for the “fraudulent and concealed” hospitals deal that “resulted in nothing.”

While discussing the availability of medicines in Malta and Gozo, including for those not listed on the official registry, Borg condemned how one of the most effective treatments to combat HIV, Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP), is sometimes unavailable for being out of stock. He criticised that especially since Malta has one of the highest HIV diagnosis rates in Europe, it is crucial that “this medicine must be available to everyone.”

During this activity, Borg referenced how last October, Health Minister Jo Etienne Abela had requested the Standards Commissioner to open a probe against Borg for spreading “very serious misinformation” that could impact public trust towards generic medicines. Borg had said that a PN government would ensure the availability of medicines that are “of good quality, not generics.” The Standards Commissioner rejected the Health Minister’s request due to an omission in MP’s Code of Ethics that does not explicitly oblige them to be honest.

On this, Borg stated that the incumbent Labour government is “trying to paint a picture” that he was attacking generic medicines and that the Labour Party’s media wing, ONE, were “spinning” this story by stating that Borg was attacking the pharmaceutical industry through these comments.

Borg said on Sunday that he thinks the government “attacked” him on this because it is unaware of what citizens are saying on the ground.

“It’s not that generic medicines are inferior,” Borg said, noting that generic medicines are not perfect replacements, “they don’t have the same effect as the originator drug.”

He added that parents with children who have ADHD, or epilepsy, or respiratory problems understand what this is like, and resultantly seek specific medicines privately, instead of generic medicines that are listed on the government’s formulary. Borg continued that a PN government will continue investing in the local pharmaceutical industry, even to have more quality jobs in the country.

“I am not attacking a sector, but I want to help young couples who are suffering because generic medicines available to them are not effective for what they have,” Borg said.

Aside from this, Borg said that Prime Minister Abela showed the country how unaware he is of present realities when he declared that nine in every ten youths under the age of 35 are homeowners.  

“This shows how cut off from reality he is. We conduct house visits and hear frequently that youths are struggling to become homeowners,” Borg said, recounting a recent KPMG finding that the average asking price for a property in Malta is slightly over €400,000 and commenting that this is unaffordable for a youth earning an average wage.

During this political activity, Borg discussed other sectors through a Q&A style format, where he discussed his and the PN’s intentions for the country, should it be entrusted to govern.

The PN leader expressed concern that the incumbent administration has made many promises that never came to fruition, such as the metro and the bridge to connect Malta and Gozo. In this regard, he said he hopes that the plans to bolster the Gozo Channel services through new ships, as announced earlier in the week, do not fall through.

Borg underlined that in recent weeks, Prime Minister Abela has announced that several significant sites such as White Rocks and Manoel Island shall be returned to the public to become national parks. Borg first observed that these announcements were made shortly after the last Budget, though they were mentioned in this last Budget, therefore raising questions on how government finances will be allocated to proceed with these projects. He also mentioned that Malta has no explicit definition for a “national park,” and thinks this should be discussed in Parliament so that MPs can iron out what people may expect out of these sites He said that while a “national park,” to him, refers to somewhere full of trees, it may equate to a place filled with kiosks to someone else.

The Opposition leader said that sectors like the aviation industry and the local maritime sector have room to be maximised, though not necessarily through large capital or infrastructural investments; he observed that this statement also applies to bolster other existing sectors. He noted that with circa 14,000 commercial vessels passing through Maltese waters every year, the maritime sector could grow by offering all vessels to refuel locally, with whatever fuel they require.

For new sectors, he declared that the economy and education must be intertwined in order for Malta to be able to have larger, defined new sectors, such as e-sports, fintech, artificial intelligence, etc., for Malta to become a hub for them.

Alex Borg concluded by telling PN supporters that 2026 is a big year for the party in Opposition, as with the Prime Minister confirming that he will not call an early election, this is the final full calendar year before the year of the next general election. Hence, he called for the party to continue riding its wave of momentum, though to stay focused as it still has a lot to do.

He closed by telling Prime Minister Robert Abela that he can go about the next general election as he pleases, though PN will be ready and prepared to be a strong party when the time comes as a party for the nation and a party for all.