Controlling the cost of living will be the main priority of the Labour Party, when it is elected to government at the forthcoming general election, said the Opposition Leader.
He said families were burdened with the high cost of living, so the Labour Party had chosen this issue as its main priority on the national agenda and one of the measures to control the cost of living will be that of reducing the surcharge on utility bills by half.
He said that despite being the party in opposition, the MLP was effective enough to compel the government to make a move in this regard; in fact, in Budget 2008, which will be presented in Parliament today, Prime Minister Gonzi will announce that the government will provide Lm1.50 /EUR3.49 per week to make up for the increase in the cost of living.
Dr Sant said however, that the government was ignoring the increase in the cost of living completely. The Labour leader said that while carrying out house visits he met a family who had to move to a house close to the sea due to the fact that one of the children suffered from a specific illness.
Another family he met told him they had to stop spending money on what they used to consider as extravagances due to the huge expenses they were being faced with.
The Opposition Leader said the government itself was guilty of having contributed to certain increases in the cost of living over the past few years.
He noted that even though the PN had said the country’s finances had been strengthened in 2003, after the general election VAT was increased from 15 to 18 per cent.
This left a strong cumulative impact on the cost of living, said Dr Sant, adding that the current government had introduced between 50 and 60 taxes and fees over the past three years. He said the rate of tax increases in Malta over the past three years was the highest in the EU.
On euro adoption, Dr Sant said the government’s duty was to ensure a fair, transparent and efficient changeover. The government should have worked closely with businesses, while at the same time defending the interests of families and consumers.
Despite the FAIR scheme, this did not happen, according to Dr Sant, who said that consumers hardly have a voice in the euro changeover.
He said the truth is that over the past few weeks, a substantial number of prices have increased drastically. Acknowledging that certain price hikes were due to the international price of cereals, he said the Labour Party would not allow the government to use this excuse to explain the increase in the cost of living.
Referring to the price stability agreements by means of which importers are bound not to increase their prices until March next year, Dr Sant said it was clear that prices would increase radically after March and by that time the election would be over.
Dr Sant referred to a report issued by Union Haddiema Maghqudin (UHM), which showed that in the course of just a few weeks, prices of food and medicines increased by five to 20 per cent. This corresponds with the government’s own prices indices issued at the beginning of this month, said the Labour leader.
Dr Sant said that when the Labour Party is elected to government, it will make sure that it creates a more effective agency that is supposed to ensure a fair and transparent open market.
The Opposition Leader added that a new Labour government will also look into the tax system and the MLP is planning to reduce taxes wherever possible.
Dr Sant mentioned VAT on the education sector, which he said would be much more effective without the tax burden.
He said a new Labour government will be very careful with the country’s finances and it will do its best to ensure that no money is wasted or used in a dishonest manner.
Malta Freeport Corporation has lost Lm43 million (EUR100.2 million) over the past year, according to a report published by the corporation last week, Opposition Leader Alfred Sant said yesterday.
Referring to Mater Dei Hospital, Dr Sant said it had cost Lm300 million (EUR698.8 million) and four months after it was officially opened, it has not yet started operating. He said the government discovered the country did not have enough nurses to work at the new hospital, so foreign nurses will have to be brought over.
On a different note, Dr Sant said the government led by Prime Minster Lawrence Gonzi had not yet given an explanation regarding the loss made at the Freeport.
While the PN government considers the Labour Party’s proposal to cut the surcharge on utility by half, as scandalous, it deals with the loss of huge amounts of money in a completely different manner, said Dr Sant.
He said people were after responsible, efficient, honest and accountable ministers and the Labour Party can promise a Cabinet of such ministers. On the other hand, said Dr Sant, the current government speaks about excellence, but keeps sending signals of incompetence, inefficiency and corruption.