Malta, Times of Malta, Inglês

Opposition Leader Bernard Grech called the Labour government “fraudsters,” who do not care for the Maltese public, and urged a united public to attend Monday’s second protest organised by the PN, this time calling for Gozo Minister Clint Camilleri to resign.

He said that the people “won” following the resignation of former Minister Clayton Bartolo on Tuesday.

Grech spoke in Parliament during the Justice Ministry Budget estimates and said that the Maltese and Gozitan people do not feel that there is true justice in the country, as government has “lost all its social values, and has robbed the public.”

“Today, the people won again through its unity, and they were right, while the other side of the House tried ridiculing the public for three weeks,” Grech said.

He referred to Bartolo’s resignation on Tuesday morning. Bartolo resigned from his post as minister, with the Prime Minister telling journalists that he was also removed from the Labour Parliamentary Group, following fresh allegations surrounding his wife Amanda Muscat. Muscat is alleged to have received a €50,000 kickback from an MTA deal, with Abela saying that these new circumstances have led to Bartolo’s resignation.

Aside from that scandal, Bartolo was involved in another, which also involves Gozo Minister Clint Camilleri. Clayton Bartolo and Gozo Minister Clint Camilleri were found by the Standards Commissioner Joseph Azzopardi to have abused their power when Bartolo’s then-girlfriend, now wife Amanda Muscat was given a job she had no qualifications for, and did not do. The ministers respectively were found to have failed to administer public funds diligently, Azzopardi said in the report. Azzopardi found that Amanda Muscat, now Bartolo’s wife, was first promoted from being Bartolo’s personal assistant to his consultant with an increased salary of almost €62,000 and, later, this was upped to €68,000 when she moved to Camilleri’s ministry in 2021. The report found that Muscat did not do consultancy work. By and large she continued to work as Bartolo’s private secretary, with a consultant’s salary, even when she was employed with Camilleri. On 18 November, the PN had organised the first protest tied to this scandal.

“We said, and we will continue saying that Clayton Bartolo was found guilty of ‘fraud’ with the public’s money,” Grech said, noting that the word ‘fraud’ did not sit well with Labour.

“We are calling a spade, a spade. That which is good, government says is wrong, and what is wrong, government launders it, and tries to make it clean,” Grech said.

He said Bartolo should have resigned immediately when the Standard Commissioner’s report was published three weeks ago, but instead, he simply said “sorry.”

Moreover, Prime Minister Robert Abela defended both Ministers, Grech said, while the PN kept insisting that the money she received must be paid back, and both Ministers must resign. If they failed to, Abela should have removed them.

Grech said that Bartolo had to concede to the pressure by the people and the PN, which he described as a “win for the people.”

He reminded, however, that Camilleri’s position is also no longer tenable, and alleged that Bartolo was not originally removed simply because Camilleri had been roped in.

Grech described Abela as the “traitor” of the Maltese public, as he keeps defending cases of “fraud.”

He mentioned a list of cases, such as the identity cards “fraud,” the driving license racket, the contraventions “fraud”, the social benefits racket, social housing “fraud,” Rosianne Cutajar, and now recently, Clayton Bartolo.

“Camilleri does not want to bow his head and resign after giving a phantom job to the girlfriend of his friend, stealing €70k from public funds. If Bartolo resigned, Camilleri must too,” Grech said.

The biggest case of “fraud” the country has seen, however, is the sale of the three Maltese hospitals, Grech said.

“This government has robbed its children, the vulnerable, the public. Abela chooses fraud, criminals, and fraudsters, and throws you away,” Grech said.

He continued that the public does not feel there is true justice in the country.

“We will not stop here. You will not close our mouths,” Grech said, also referring to the Speaker’s earlier ruling.

Grech said the public has more to claim victory on, and it is time for the public to unite and tell government it must not continue its ways.

“Next Monday, let’s unite once again in front of Parliament so that the public wins again,” Grech said.