Nationalist Party leader Adrian Delia said today that he expected the reform initiated in June will be finalised by the end of March, three months earlier than anticipated.
Speaking on the party radio station, Delia said that he had appointed veteran politician Louis Galea last June to work on the party’s reform with the understanding that it needed to be completed within a year.
Over the past months Galea had held tens of meetings with the party structures, individuals and members of the civic society and now the time has come for the second part of the reform process, one that will go through all the proposals that have been received to give the party a new image.
Delia said that the reform will not only concern the way the party was structured, but also in its policies. It does not necessarily mean that policies which the PN has endorsed over many years will be changed; what will change is the way the party’s message is communicated.
Gone are the days when society took years to change; in the era we are living in, change is taking place very quickly and the party must be ready for the challenge.
He said the government’s model may be good for the short-term – and during this short-term many people close to the government are reaping the fruit of good positions with hefty salaries – but in the long-term there will be negative consequences.
He mentioned the deal reached by the government on the three hospitals – St Luke’s, Karin Grech and Gozo – which is not serving the country well. The Prime Minister boasted that Steward had invested €36 million in the last three years, but he forgot that in these three years the government had given Steward €150 million.
Delia said that the expenditure to run these hospitals before 2013 hovered between €20 and €30 million, but not they are costing €80-€90 million with no evident improvement in the care being given, or the facilities or equipment used. So where is the money going, Delia asked.
He criticised the Planning Authorioty decision to grant a permit for the building of a villa in Qali on what is rural land in an outside development zone. He said many NGOs and even Labour exponents, along with the PN, had been against the project, but the people who were mostly responsible have not spoken out.
He said the Labour representative on the PA board has not explained his decision. The Prime Minister, the Environment Minister and the Finance Minister – who boasted on presenting a green budget – have also remained silent, as has the Planning Authority. “We need answers,” Delia said.
