Competitiveness and Communications Minister Censu Galea told a seminar yesterday they had to have a link between policy development and practice if they were to be successful in the implementation process. “Each one of us has the power to bring about change and to do something constructive and effective. But we need to work together towards solutions,” he said.

Over the past decade, the government had been working hard to provide a better quality of life when it came to various issues, such as consumer choice, which has come up with a better variety of products and services while balancing the basic rules of competition and pricing.

In policy development, he said, the Division for Competition and Consumer had since 2000, focused on issues that ensured that each citizen got a fair deal from retailers or service providers.

Engaging the consumer in responsible behaviour meant that they could improve the collective quality of life by providing better health services, safer goods and services, value for money and a better environment. “By purchasing goods and services responsibly, each one of us will make decisions that could affect our health and our environment, not to mention our economy and the potential for future investment. Principles such as reduce, reuse and recycle and polluter pays are meant to draw everyone’s attention to the dangers of overindulging in a consumerist society,” Mr Galea said.