Muscat mocks families - even the vulnerable, says PN

Despite all the promises made in the last budget to address the increase in housing rents – increases imposed by the current government itself at the start of this legislature – the first bills of the new year have been issued with the rates unchanged, the Nationalist Party said in a statement.

Nationalist Party Leader Simon Busuttil last year made a commitment that a new Nationalist Government will return rental prices to what they were before Muscat raised them so aggressively that some families are now paying double and even triple the rent they used to. After this clear commitment by Simon Busuttil, the government pledged it would reverse the rents to the rates under the previous Nationalist administration.

But, regardless of Muscat’s promise, the tax that the Government introduced on the most vulnerable families is still in place and their rent for the first month of the year has not been lowered.

It is pointless for Muscat to now promise to hand out a lump sum to these families at some point this year; families need the guaranteed relief immediately.

The Nationalist Party reiterates that Muscat simply has to stop mocking people and learn to keep his word with families. These actions by the government only serve to widen the divide between those who stash their millions in secret accounts in Panama, and those who are unable to keep up with their rent.

The statement was signed by Paula Mifsud Bonnici, Shadow Minister for Social Policy; Robert Cutajar, Spokesperson for the Family and Children’s Rights, the Elderly and Persons with Disability and Stephen Spiteri, Spokesperson for Housing and the Fight against Poverty.