The latest revision to the water and electricity surcharge only proves the Labour Party right when it states that the imposition of this arbitrary increase on the public and which is supposedly related to the rise in fuel prices, is both unwarranted and unjust, Labour deputy leader Charles Mangion said yesterday.

He said that the government was again sowing confusion in the way it is publishing figures in relation to the purchase of oil by Enemalta when it quoted the expense for fuel oil for the year to be Lm 80.7 million in November and now it was stating that it would be Lm 80.8 million – a difference of Lm 100,000.

Dr Mangion explained that in its statement issued on 29 December, the government said that the total amount financed by Enemalta would amount to Lm 40.8 million, while in October it said that this amount would be Lm 50.8 million and an additional Lm 8.4 million for inefficiencies.

The MLP deputy leader said that with these new figures, the surcharge should have gone down by much more than eight per cent and urged the government to commission an independent study on the effect of fuel prices on the local economy. This had also been requested by the social partners on MCESD level, he added.

Dr Mangion said that the government’s recent decision to strengthen the Fuel Procurement Advisory Committee was a demonstration that nothing had been done in the past year with the consequence that the public has to yet again fork out more money in taxes to subsidise this government’s arrogance and incompetence.