Muscat - Government must answer for accusations of inteference in oncology department

Speaking at a political activity held in Xewkijja, Gozo, Labour Leader Joseph Muscat said that the government must answer for allegations of political interference made by former head of Mater Dei Hospital's Oncology Department Stephen Brincat, who resigned only days ago after falling out with government over policy and administrative decisions.

Muscat referred to statements by Brincat, where he listed reasons for his resignation. Muscat referred to one reason in particular, where Brincat revealed that government would interfere with the Oncology Department's work, and attempt to interfere in decisions related to those patients the department admitted for cancer testing and care, and those patients it released from care.

Muscat said that such allegations of political interference are "shocking" and called on both Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi and Health Minister Joe Cassar to answer to these claims. "Both the Health Minister and the Prime Minister will have to answer for this most serious accusation," Muscat insisted.

Muscat also pointed out how Brincat's statements also highlighted the government's mismanagement of the health service. He said that despite its agreement with contractor and construction company SKANSKA that it would build an oncology clinic for cancer care, "the company was paid despite this was not built."

He said that the result of this was government's decision to build an oncology clinic at Zammit Clapp hospital in Floriana, which, according to Brincat's statement, the government was strongly advised against. Three years later, government relented and began plans for the construction of a new clinic there, alongside other specialities.

Muscat said he welcomed expenditures that benefited Maltese and Gozitan patients, and provided necessary medical care. "But whomever took these decisions (to initially locate a cancer clinic at Zammit Clapp) and set back national cancer care for entire years, needs to shoulder responsibility," he insisted.

Referring to the recently-unveiled cohabitation bill and Justice Minister Chris Said's statements on gay couples, Muscat said that despite such issues being highly-emotional and potentially contentious, he insisted that "what right did governments or politicians have to interfere in people's private lives?"

He said that throughout the 60s, the Labour Party had faced religious stigma and ostracism at the hands of certain individuals within the Maltese Clergy. But despite this, the Labour party did not shy away from lobbying for greater separation between Church and State, he said. Muscat also recalled how it was also the Labour party that had decriminalised homosexuality "in a much more sensitive time."

He said that given such courage in years past, it is now Labour's duty to take a stand "against the creation of a separation between second class families and first class families, and to ensure that all families are considered first class families."

During his address, Muscat also accused government of trying to covertly reign in its spiralling deficit by means of superficial cost-cutting exercises which would only further hamper the middle and working classes.

"In the past few days, the government ordered the second decrease in spending. Not by tackling waste. Not by addressing mismanagement, but by means of a hidden and covert approach that shows [Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi] lacks the courage to face the population openly and honestly. However all is fine as long as he has the funds for a new Parliament," Muscat said.

Muscat said that for the country to embark on the road to economic recovery, the government needs to ensure that there are no privileged cliques which are able to pass on their expenses to the population as a whole. Muscat also said that by means of spiralling costs of living, the government had destabilised the middle class.

Muscat hit out at government for having "lost all direction" and said that Malta is burdened by a Prime Minister intent on clinging on to power for a handful of days despite his parliamentary crisis instead of focusing on the national interest.

"This Prime Minister (Lawrence Gonzi) and his Finance Minister (Tonio Fenech) no longer possess the credentials to manage the country's economy and finances at such a delicate time," Muscat said, adding that they have been consistently failing to meet their own targets for the past four years.

Muscat also referred to how the deficit kept spiralling upwards despite assurance otherwise from government. "The Prime minister will use the same approach he used last year. When, at the end of the year, the government noticed that expenditure had gotten out of hand, they cut capital expenditure on all projects except the new Parliament. It cut down much-needed capital investment to make good for careless spending," Muscat said.

Muscat also hit out at the government's highly-optimistic forecast on 2012's economy growth. "We we saw the budget, we already knew and said that its aims were unrealistic. After a few weeks, the International Monetary Fund and the European Union said likewise. Now, the Central Bank has also adopted this position."

Muscat said that while government "might contrive to meet its targets by cutting here and there, it is doing so in an artificial manner and it will come back to haunt Maltese and Gozitan citizens." Muscat said that the government was already warned that it needed to cut expenditure, but had ignored such warnings.