Traffic is no longer an inconvenience; it is a burden on the economy, Borg says

Traffic is no longer just an inconvenience, but it has steadily become a burden on the economy and is negatively affecting quality of life, Nationalist Party leader Alex Borg said on Friday. Speaking in Swieqi, Borg said that the Labour government has regularly come up with plans to say that it has a solution to the traffic problem, but these proposals are never implemented. The PL is doing the same thing again in this election campaign, but it has no credibility on the subject. Added to this, the Finance Minister is not willing to fund the project, Borg said. The traffic problem, he said, has exploded in the last 13 years of a Labour government. The public transport service is itself a victim of this, as buses get caught up in long traffic jams. The Labour government’s solution to this is that while on the one hand it wants to pay for people to give up their driving licence, and on the other hand it is offering a grant for people to buy bigger cars. This is the confusion that the PL finds itself in, Borg said. Traffic is costing the country €770 million and the expense will grow to €900 million, he said. Conversely, the PN this morning presented a credible alternative, a project that will revolutionise the transport system in Malta, as it pledged to build the first underground link between the airport and Pembroke. Under a Labour government, traffic has caused disruption, it is leading to additional stress, and is negatively affecting quality of life. This has become normal when it should not be, and the PN is determined to carry out its plans for an underground system, with the first line to be completed within five years. Borg added that Nationalist MEPs are already working within the European structures to secure part of the funding for this project. The service to be offered will be free of charge to all Maltese and Gozitans, he said. Borg also briefly touched on promises being made by the Labour Party in the health sector, saying that the PL has no credibility on the subject given the mess it has created. The PN, he said, is pledging to build a network of hospitals which will improve the level of service offered. The activity was also addressed by European Parliament president Roberta Metsola, who said that the vote people will be casting in the election will pave the way for Malta not only for the next five years, but also beyond. She criticised the Labour government for its failures in the energy sector, saying that it cannot be accepted in this day and age that the country is without power for days on end during the hot summer days. She also referred to traffic and health issues, saying that hours spent stuck behind the wheel are hours stolen from the family and rest. People need parks full of trees not full of gravel, she said, also highlighting the need for a better education system that prepares young people for the jobs they will find when they grow up.