Winding up the discussion in parliament, Investments Minister Austin Gatt praised the employees for their efforts to make the corporation more efficient. He said that reducing the corporation’s administrative costs by Lm1.3 million was no joke, adding that it was only with good management that these results could have been achieved.

“It would be wonderful if this could be the rule and not the exception. It is a misfortune that this does not also happen in other corporations and government entities. WSC is an exemplary corporation and its employees – from the workers to the chief executive and chairman – should be praised for their work,” he said.

On the boreholes issue, Dr Gatt said it was true that not enough was being done to pin-point and close illegal boreholes around the islands. He also remarked that if one had to enforce the law, then it would be done without looking at who the person is and whether he was a blue-eyed or a red-eyed citizen.

Speaking about the amount of water lost when compared to that produced, Dr Gatt said the amount lost in Malta was similar to the levels in Canada and the United Kingdom. This did not mean that more could not be done to bring this level down further, he said.