May 05 - GSD Says Picardo’s Word “Not To Be Trusted”
The GSD says it has noted Mr Picardo’s comments in the press “decrying” the cost of remedial works to projects built during the GSD’s tenure in office. The party says that Mr Picardo “conveniently forgets” that it cost the GSD Government over £20 million to put right the poor workmanship in estates such as Westside 1, Westside 2 and Brympton to name but a few.
The GSD says that, considering this cost to re-clad entire estates, it is surprised that the GSLP Government has managed to spend as much as it claims to have on more recent developments. The Opposition argues that Mr Picardo “has not always been entirely honest” in matters of public finance and says it reminds the public of his denial of the Government loan to Sunborn in Parliament and his claim to the electorate that Gibraltar was in poor economic condition, just prior to his Government embarking on what it terms the “greatest spending spree in the history of Gibraltar.” Because of this, the party says that it is of the opinion that the word of Mr Picardo “is not to be trusted” in these matters.
Although the Opposition states that this is not the kind of politics that it wants to be involved in, it stresses that it cannot “stand idly by” whilst Mr. Picardo does precisely what he said on election night he would not do. According to the GSD, Mr Picardo’s “blame the GSD” mantra “betrays his nervousness at the bad job he is doing.” The GSD argues that Mr Picardo should have stuck to his initial promise in his first address to the nation as Chief Minister elect at the John Mackintosh Hall on election night, not to denigrate the GSD’s record in office and to “get on with his job.”
His whole political discourse, says the GSD, has turned into a “constant attempt to denigrate the GSD’s record” in office and to blame the GSD for “every ill affecting this community” without taking responsibility for the fact that he has been in office for two and a half years.
A statement from the party continues: “If he spent less time blaming the GSD or with vanity projects and photograph opportunities, his Government would have probably attracted real investment into Gibraltar. At the moment all he has done is attract a silver coin minting enterprise.
“So much for all those investors he told Gerard Teuma in his first interview as Chief Minister that he had up his sleeve when he was first interviewed as Leader of the Opposition in May 2011 and which he has been repeating over the last two years in answer to questions from the Leader of the Opposition in Parliament.”
