The Nationalist Party is using partisan attacks against the new CEO of Malta Enterprise, George Gregory, who has "never been active in politics", the Ministry for the Economy and Enterprise said in response to a PN statement on Tuesday.

The Ministry said that it is disappointed by the PN's actions, and continued that it is "very regrettable" that the Opposition is trying to "confuse facts that can be easily verified from public information". It added that such information discredits what the Opposition is saying.

"Mr. Gregory was chosen to serve in this position after a thirty-year career as an accountant among the best accounting firms in the country. Where among others, he served as a partner or managing partner in three international firms," the Ministry remarked.

It continued that the target for this year, concerning Foreign Direct Investment, was to have the largest quality FDI in Malta's history. Having said that, it continued that to date, this target has already been exceeded. "Among them through the work in the field of semiconductors", or microchips, "where Malta's largest RDI project was secured through the IPCEI2 application for STMicroelectronics Malta."

It added that throughout the last months, other projects with a "strong impact" were attracted, such as "Torrent Pharma, R3Vox, which work on radars for under the sea, and GIMAS, which will produce parts for wind turbines and so is a company that works on clean technology here in Malta itself and will create green jobs."

The Ministry continued that other expansion projects include "those from de La Rue, Trelleborg, Baxter, and Seifert". It said that in the last five years, "not only has Malta Enterprise managed to support every operational manufacturing company in Malta to remain among us, but most of the factories have expanded or increased the careers created in Malta."

It said that this was after the COVID-19 pandemic, during which Malta Enterprise "managed to help workers through the Covid Wage Supplement, which saved thousands of jobs with a total investment of €800 million in the economy".

The Ministry concluded by saying that Malta Enterprise has become synonymous with companies which offer higher quality jobs in innovation and require less land. It appealed to the Opposition "so that when it comes to the opportunities and economic future of our country, it will no longer be fixated on partisan games".

PN's hypocrisy has no limit - PL

Also replying to the PN's statement, the Labour Party said that "the Opposition's hypocrisy has no limit". The PL continued that the PN, "In another senseless attack, is now attacking professional people who have chosen to give service to a country in the management of such an important entity that attracts quality investment and creates opportunities, among them for Maltese and Gozitan youth."

The PL said that the PN is doing this "because, for the Nationalist Party, it would be bad if you give service to a country led by a Labour government".

Labour remarked that Opposition Leader Bernard Grech "comfortably attacks a professional" who is unaffiliated in politics, "but is then muted on Adrian Delia, who wants the country to pay almost €200 million more to his client on a tender". This remark refers to a situation regarding the Maghtab incinerator project tender, in which Delia was involved in a court case which resulted in the tender decision being annulled due to the Appeals Court having found that members of the original adjudicating panel had a conflict of interest. 

"The partisan attacks and cheap politics of the Leader of the Opposition show how much nothing has changed in the Nationalist Party," the PL concluded.

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