Dalli admits electricity crisis, but evades responsibility \u2013 PN; PL says PN is 'distorting facts'<\/p>\n
After three years and €140 million in expenditure, Minister Miriam Dalli admitted during a meeting with the MCESD that the country is facing a crisis and a failure in the electricity distribution sector, the Nationalist Party said on Friday.<\/p>\n
“The Minister is now asking the social partners to come up with the solutions,” the party added.<\/p>\n
It said that those solutions should have come from the Government itself, instead of Robert Abela and Miriam Dalli attempting to conceal their failure by playing with words.<\/p>\n
“Rather than assuming political responsibility for this crisis, the Government chose to avoid the parliamentary debate and vote on the Minister’s own responsibility. It also chose to avoid a discussion on the report by the Auditor General,” the PN said.<\/p>\n
The party continued that the crisis engulfing the Minister is becoming even more apparent following reports that she intends to use the CEO of the Climate Action Authority as her secretary, to attend MCESD meetings and communicate on behalf of the Government.<\/p>\n
“This is a clear conflict of interest and further confirmation that Miriam Dalli has no understanding of good governance. She is using the head of a regulatory authority that is meant to be independent to serve her political agenda, while continuing to evade responsibility,” the PN said.<\/p>\n
“The Minister is so detached from reality that she once again repeated what she said in Parliament: that, as a result of the investment carried out, the majority of people had their electricity supply restored within a few hours. This is despite the fact that thousands of people spent entire days and nights without electricity.”<\/p>\n
The Maltese and Gozitan people, as well as our businesses and industries, deserve seriousness and peace of mind when it comes to energy. They do not deserve a Minister who admits there is a crisis only when it is too late, uses institutions as a shield and continues to evade responsibility for the hardship inflicted on people and on the country.<\/p>\n
The PN reiterated its call for for special compensation for Enemalta workers, as well as a regulatory framework providing automatic compensation to families and businesses that were left without electricity for hours.<\/p>\n
The statement was signed by PN Shadow Minister for Energy and the Environment Mark Anthony Sammut.<\/p>\n
PN ‘distorting the facts again’ because it is only interested in partisan politics – PL <\/strong><\/p>\n In reaction, the PL said that the meeting held with MCESD on Friday was requested by the Government. <\/p>\n “The Government is convinced of the investment it is making and wants to continue to make, that it chose, as it has always been done, to consult the social partners on infrastructure works, how it is managing the demand and measures for responsible energy consumption,” the PL said.<\/p>\n “The PN prefers a Government that does not listen to anyone and decides everything from behind a desk,” the party added.<\/p>\n The PL said that Minister Miriam Dalli has always clearly explained the work that has been done, the challenges still to be addressed and the concrete plan to further accelerate unprecedented investment in the distribution system. <\/p>\n It continued that the strong investment being made is a large part of the solution. Where work was done on the high and medium voltage level, the system was more resilient and supply could be restored more quickly. Work is now continuing in more locations, on three new distribution centres and on the low-voltage network. <\/p>\n The PL said that the Government is confident in the work done that it asked the Auditor General to update its report to include the investment of the last three years. Whoever has nothing to hide asks to be scrutinised, while whoever wants to cast doubt just issues partisan statements, the party added.<\/p>\n “The PN has shown its lack of understanding of the climate challenge and the need for climate adaptation, because it is unable to understand the role of Eng. Abigail Cutajar as CEO of the Climate Action Authority is to have measures as part of climate adaptation. The PN is trying to spin the participation of a technical expert into a political controversy because it has no substantial argument,” the PL said.<\/p>\n “The Government will continue to invest, accelerate works, listen to social partners and respond to challenges. The PN may continue to search for a sensational title. The Government will continue to carry out the work.”<\/p>\n
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