[WATCH] Grech asks social partners to support his call for a national taskforce on greylisting

Opposition leader Bernard Grech has called on the social partners to join his call for a national task force to get Malta off the FATF greylist.

The suggestion was shot down by the government when made last week.

“Government should not ignore our call for a national effort which recognises and solves the problems we have,” Grech said told a special session of the Malta Council for Economic and Social Development on Wednesday in the wake of Malta’s greylisting.

“As outlined by the FATF report itself, Malta cannot downplay the greylist’s impact on our economy and jobs,” he said. “The time has come to call a spade, a spade.” 

He also said the Opposition filed a motion in parliament calling for the FATF’s full correspondence and proposed action plan to be tabled in the House. 

“We as an Opposition cannot rely solely on media reports, if we truly want to fix the situation… This is a critical moment for Malta, no rhetoric or cliché will take our country out of this dark alley,” he said. 

He also said that several MCESD members have told him that government was not hearing them out when implementing decisions. 

“I promise to ensure that dialogue between government and social partners is strengthened,” he said. “As leader of the Opposition and as part of the PN, we are here to continue meeting with you individually and collectively to ensure that the dialogue is truly carried out.”