I do respect the opinions of Mr Joe Martinelli of London, Ontario (TMID, 13 November), but I must say they are biased.

One has to go well before Dom Mintoff`s era to taste what poverty meant in Malta, when the average man’s wage was below £1.10s a week, and when family units were much larger than they are today.

Mintoff’s vision was not only to eliminate beggars from the streets; it went far beyond that. At the drop of a penny he gave old people back their dignity and he put money in their purses – a pension. Allow me to remind Mr Martinelli that it was a Nationalist opposition that opposed the start of eliminating poverty in Malta, and yet today they flaunt pensions as a feather in their cap.

If Mr Martinelli wants to compare the water and electricity rates being paid today to Alfred Sant’s suggestions at his time in government, I will be glad to e-mail him the exorbitant bills that I am paying today. Please do not forget that in Alfred Sant’s time not one person on this island had paid the bills as proposed by the government; on the contrary, it took a new Nationalist government a good part of 18 months to sort out a true rate for water and electricity. One has to understand that we do not buy crude oil, but refined oil, and the actual price of refined oils on the world markets actually dropped, even when crude soared up to over $77 a barrel.

The 50 cents on prescriptions for medicine was not a tax; it was an ideal way to curb waste. I will go further and suggest that a Lm2.50c on prescriptions today would save the Health Department millions of liri. One has to be living on this island to witness the wanton waste.

As for Mater Dei, the less said the better. In Dubai and Abu Dhabi five star hotels are being built for half the price and in a fraction of the time it is being taken to finish this blessed hospital. As for the roads, my advice is that if Mr Martinelli ever decides to visit us, he should leave his car at home.

While shopping in a supermarket, a British visitor was amazed at how we manage to make ends meet, when comparing prices and wages to the UK.

One little example, the price of certain cheeses in Malta is twice that in the UK. The same goes for VAT. Apart from Sweden and maybe Denmark, we pay one of the highest VAT rates in the European Union. Compare the rate of exchange and you will see exactly what I mean. I agree, we have most of what we seek today, but we are paying the price. Maybe Mr Martinelli has been away for a few years, but facts are facts and there is no denying or twisted excuses. Politics are one thing and the experience of life is another.

Laurence Schembri

Gudja