The examples of abuse in dual pricing mentioned by Opposition Leader Alfred Sant last Sunday were just bad examples of people who were not adhering to the guidelines issued by the National Euro Changeover Committee, the government said yesterday.

In a statement, the government said that once the Euro Adoption Act comes into force, the examples mentioned by Dr Sant will be considered to be illegal, and action will be taken against the shops involved.

The government said that the dual pricing process is educational and is meant to help the Maltese become accustomed to the new currency which will be introduced in Malta on 1 January 2008.

It said that the dual pricing process is not useless, as Dr Sant is claiming and it also referred to a survey published by the Eurobarometer which revealed that 93 per cent of the Maltese are in favour of a period of dual pricing.

Meanwhile, in a counter statement, Dr Sant said that the government has already lost control over the dual pricing process. The government knows about these shortcomings, he said, but is using the excuse that the law has not yet been enacted.

He said the government’s decision to introduce dual pricing on 1 January 2007 – a year before the introduction of the euro – does not make sense because a decision has not yet been taken on the rate of exchange.

Just like in the years before 2003, said Dr Sant, the government is keeping the facts from people.