Opposition to file motion to have ICC ruling discussed in parliament

Nationalist leader Alex Borg has announced the Opposition will be filing a parliamentary motion to discuss the International Chamber of Commerce ruling on the hospitals concession arbitration. 

"The Maltese and Gozitan people are the biggest victims of the hospital’s deal," Borg said. 

He said the government hid the ruling from the public, claiming a different picture was presented through a press statement in which the government claimed that Malta had won. "Yet in that same statement, the government admitted that it had paid Steward €900 million under this contract," Borg said during an interview on NET TV. 

He said the ICC tribunal's ruling confirms what Maltese courts had already pointed out: “the Maltese and Gozitan people only lost and gained nothing.”

During the interview, presenter Julian Borg referred to a MaltaToday article which stated that Robert Abela's victory claim on the arbitration “was just spin,” and that Malta lost its claim to recover €488 million from Steward.

Borg said the ruling shows the government asked for €488 million plus interest from Steward for having completely failed to deliver the three hospitals they had promised. However, not only did the government fail to recover these funds, but Malta will now have to pay a further €5 million to Steward.

The PN Leader said the government was celebrating victory whilst admitting that Steward owes around €500 million. He said the government is now repeating the PN’s own position, yet still refuses to admit it was right all along about the deal. 

"If it were not for Adrian Delia and the Nationalist Party, the Maltese and Gozitan people would still be paying millions of their money to Steward, whilst still waiting in hospital queues and still without the promised facilities," Borg said.

During the interview, the PN Leader also spoke about the budget. He said that although it contained some measures that may ease the burden for certain groups, it failed to address the real problems affecting the people, particularly traffic congestion.

He added that despite serious issues in the country's infrastructure, as highlighted in a recent EY survey, the government cut €100 million from capital spending.

"Despite all the talk surrounding what was supposed to be the best budget in Malta's history, the government still failed to solve the problems it itself created," Borg said.

Borg spoke about the 50 measures he announced during his budget replica, saying they are “just the start of a vision that looks ahead to the future of the country and the generations to come.”

Among these, he mentioned the Child Trust Fund, a fund of €5,000 for every newborn child to provide them with a foundation on which to build their future. “This will give families peace of mind and the knowledge that their children will have something solid to rely on in the years ahead.”

He also commented on Prime Minister Robert Abela's budget speech, noting that after hearing the PN's vision for Malta's future, Abela announced government plans for the White Rocks area, which was not mentioned in Finance Minister Clyde Caruana’s speech. 
Borg asked whether Caruana would approve the White Rocks project or reject Abela's idea, “just as he did on the mass transport system proposal."