Grech says PN government will have a minister dedicated solely to sports

PN leader Bernard Grech said a Nationalist government will have a dedicated sports minister. 

“A PN government will radically change how we approach sport in the country,” he told supporters at a party event in Isla. 

He said the sector will be one of government’s top priorities, promising to invest in professional standard sport facilities. “We will revolutionise how sport is viewed in the country.”

Grech said a PN government will build a campus dedicated on sport science and research, while promising a futsal arena for the “ever growing sport”.

Under a PN administration, Grech said sport nurseries will receive €500 for every child under 18 years of age which is undergoing a dedicated and structured training regime. 

Those who involved in sport or the arts, will also pay just 5% income on the first €80,000 they receive. 

He said the Hal Far racetrack will become a reality under a PN administration, while ensuring to address sound pollution for neighbouring localities. 

The PN leader also slammed “selective” COVID-19 regulation, which he said was preventing athletes from carrying out the training they need.

Education

On education, Grech said the Labour Party put the sector on the backburner, and never gave it the importance it deserves. 

“Education ministers are picked from the MPs that are left,” he said, referencing Justyne Caruana’s Bogdanovic scandal last year. 

He said the PN treats education as a crucial pillar for the country. “The 10 economic sectors we will be creating need a trained workforce, and the education sector needs to be equipped to train our youth.”

He also hit out at the Labour Party’s pledge to reduce homework in the country’s schools. 

“Homework is a tool to assess students’ progress. Do we need to reduce it? Why not? But it has to be part of an overarching holistic plan.”

“We need students who are capable of critical thinking. This is further enforced by the €500 voucher we are proposing for young people to have experiences abroad,” Grech said. 

He said the PN will invest in educators so they get the attention they deserve. “When I say we need to invest in educators, I am including everyone from childcare teachers to University Professors.”

IVF 

During the event, Janice Busutill who had four miscarriages, spoke about the situation parents who seek IVF are faced with. 

Busutill also had two failed egg transfers. “I tried to speak to everyone – Castille, the President, Bernard Grech. I felt that something needs to be done, and I speak for a number of couples in the country.”

She said that last December, she and her husband had tried to bring to Malta four frozen embryos which they had in Cyprus, but legislation enacted in 2018 prevented them from doing so. 

“Today I received an email from the embryo protection authority telling me embryos predating 1 October 2018 cannot be brought into Malta,” she said. “It was a shock.”

Grech said the situation was not acceptable, saying government had lied about free IVF medication, and is using people for its political gain. “How can it be that we have this situation in the country? If there is a law, we will change it. Where there is a will, there is a way.”

“They tried to feed us a lie. To lie about the facts which I had seen with my own eyes is unbelievable. And what did they do after lying? They used the people who are leading the service to lie and ridicule about us,” he said. “They are even prepared to lie about people’s pain.”

He pledged to make all IVF medicine service free for those who seek them, while also promising a permanent IVF consultant in Malta. 

Bernard Grech reiterated criticism on how the Labour Party is yet to publish its electoral manifesto. 

“Labour are negative, because it is their only choice. They don’t have an electoral programme. All they can do is attack little mistakes in our manifesto,” he said. 

He said Labour is showing its arrogance throughout the electoral campaign. 

“They are taking you for granted so much they haven’t even published their manifesto,” he told those present.