Gozo, Public Service And One Final Debate: Here’s A Round Up Of PN’s Final Week Of The Electoral Campaign
The final week of Malta’s electoral campaign has come to an end, and it marked a busy week for the Nationalist Party and its Leader Bernard Grech
The PN fielded strong proposals that targeted Malta’s public sector and Gozo, and even put forward the necessary costings related to their electoral manifesto.
Grech also locked horns with Prime Minister Robert Abela in one, final debate held on Wednesday 23rd March.
Found it hard to keep track of all that went on? Have a read of the highlights below.
1. Revamping Malta’s public sector
The PN announced a host of proposals that would see the lives of those in Malta’s public sector improve significantly, starting with an increase in the government’s scale salaries, with equal pay for equal work.
Grech also promised allowances to all front liners, such as healthcare workers and educators. A measure that would ‘finance itself.’
A grant, equivalent to a year’s pay, would also be given to employees upon their retirement as a ‘thank you’ for their service.
Under a PN government, persons in the public sector would also be eligible for more hours of home-based work, and would be allowed sick leave to care for children or elderly who are unwell and paid leave for employees to engage in physical activity.
2. Gozo
Grech pledged to return the only hospital on the island back to the Gozitans, scrapping the existing agreement with Steward Healthcare.
Moreover, a 400-bed hospital would be built, offering access to chemotherapy as well as high-end radiological equipment, such as MRIs.
The elderly and those of mixed abilities are also in the party’s plans, with Grech maintaining that part of the plan in this regard, would be to see care homes constructed in order to keep persons in need of home care, from parting from their localities.
Aside from health, Gozitans can look forward to a revamp of their education, trade, and environmental sectors. Most noteworthy, that Gozitan workers would be guaranteed decent work with a salary to match.
Grech even vowed to invest in two new ships to increase the effectiveness of transport between Malta and Gozo, with further investments to enlarge the Mgarr port.
3. The costings of the PN’s plan for Malta, revealed
The party unveiled its financial plan for Malta, should they take the country’s reigns after 26th March. You can have a look at the official document by clicking here.
The plan is based on the PN’s vision for the island until 2030 and would see the state spend around €6 billion on a series of investments ranging from €1.89 billion in long-term projects to €1.42 million in an investment growth fund as well as €2.6 billion in incremental spending on several other areas.
The PN’s 10 new sectors proposed by the PN would generate 32,500 high-value jobs consisting of an average salary of around €43,000.
4. A final debate between Grech and the Prime Minister
Abela and Grech took part in their third and final debate ahead of the general election this weekend.
During the debate, host Liam Carter put forward the following issues: public health, social policy, the economy, foreign policy, good governance, sustainable development, and Gozo.
The debate did not disappoint after the two-party leaders hit out at each other in a somewhat heated way. It came as a surprise to many, amidst an otherwise uninspired campaign from both sides.
If you missed it, you can catch the full debate by clicking on the link below.
Need a refresher? You can have a read of PN’s first, second, third, and fourth weeks by clicking on the hyperlinks. You can also see what freebees both the PN and the PL have offered thus far, by clicking here.
What do you make of the PN’s fourth week?