PN accuses Minister of lack of accountability on unanswered parliamentary questions, Bonett replies

The Nationalist Party has accused Transport Minister Chris Bonett of failing to show accountability, citing the number of unanswered Parliamentary Questions linked to his ministry and raising concerns over publicly funded works carried out on private land in Marsascala.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, the PN said that, according to a reply given in Parliament to a question tabled by Nationalist MP Michael Piccinino, Minister Bonett’s portfolio was associated with the highest number of unanswered Parliamentary Questions during the previous legislature.

The party said that more than 1,200 parliamentary questions went unanswered by Ministers between 2022 and 2026, with the Ministry for Transport, Infrastructure and Capital Projects recording the highest figure, at 174 unanswered questions.

The PN said, “Chris Bonett not only fails to answer, but also fails to ask questions,” accusing the minister of allowing an authority under his responsibility to carry out extensive works in Marsascala using public funds without ensuring that the land involved belonged to the government.

The party said that it was only after the completion of the works that it emerged the land was privately owned, meaning that public money had been spent on works carried out on land that did not belong to the state.

The Nationalist Party called on the government to demonstrate greater “seriousness and accountability” towards taxpayers, saying that this could not be achieved through unanswered parliamentary questions or what it described as the “reckless squandering” of public funds.

Reacting to the PN’s statement, Bonett accused the Opposition of being misleading and of presenting only part of the picture.

He said that while the PN claimed he was the Minister with the highest number of unanswered parliamentary questions, it failed to mention that he was also the second Minister who answered the most questions.

Bonett said that during the last legislature, 3,904 parliamentary questions were submitted to his ministry, of which 3,730 were answered and 174 were not, meaning that 95.5% were answered and 4.5% remained unanswered.

He accused the PN of working with “deceit” and said it was important to give the full picture.

 

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