The government failed to deliver any tangible, new approaches to dealing with Malta’s rising inflation at Friday’s gathering of the Malta Council for Economic and Social Development, Malta Labour Party leader Alfred Sant said yesterday during an interview on One TV.

Instead of offering a factual analysis of how the government is dealing with the thorny issue of rising process, Dr Sant yesterday expressed his disappointment that the government instead merely paid lip service to the matter without offering any concrete measures on curtailing Malta’s rising cost of living.

At the meeting, Dr Sant said, all the government representatives did was present analysis of the situation aimed at justifying the government’s argument that it was already doing all it could. Such was not the case, Dr Sant said, while arguing the government should be dealing with the inflationary pressures in a far more serious manner.

The government, according to Dr Sant, could not continue hiding behind the explanation of imported inflation while arguing there was nothing more to be done in terms of combating prices hikes.

According to European Union figures cited by Dr Sant on price fluctuations in a number of sectors over the past year – in areas such as food, non-alcoholic beverages, shoes and clothing and health – Malta’s price increases were double and even triple those registered by the rest of the EU.

The government, however, offered no explanation on the phenomenon at the MCESD meeting convened to address the issue.

Wages in Malta, meanwhile, remained average in EU terms while taxes were rising and purchasing power remained amongst the lowest in the EU – issues the government also failed to address.

Turning to the international price of oil, Dr Sant recalled how some time ago the government had disagreed with the MLP on hedging against the cost of oil, but was now favouring the practice. Given that, Dr Sant questioned whether the government would commit the same mistake in other sectors in which prices were rising. On the other and, Dr Sant said, the government was also failing to recognise that its own inefficiencies and bureaucratic burdens, which were also adding to pressures on prices.

While the government has undertaken a number of pricing investigations, Dr Sant called for an audit into how such investigations were being conducted and on remedial action pursued once such investigations are concluded.

The MLP on its part, has a number of measures planned on safeguarding the purchasing power of Maltese consumers, among which was a halving of the electricity surcharge. At the same time, the MLP would intend strengthening the structures aimed at safeguarding consumer interests as well as businesses without resorting to price controls, which, he said, were a thing of the past.

The government, he added, should take a page from the private sector’s book in terms of best practices in management. A good example was Simonds Farsons Cisk, which has adapted to new circumstances and invested heavily in production and enhancing competitiveness.

Turing to public investments, Dr Sant pointed out how the government had spent Lm500,000 more than projected on the St Paul’s Bay bypass and although the road had been opened in July parts of it were still closed to traffic.

Projects suffering from similar ailments were the quays at Cirkewwa and Mgarr and the Manwel Dimech Bridge, as well as some of the roads leading to the Mater Dei Hospital.

The country’s economic growth was also lagging, according to Dr Sant, who pointed out that under the current administration real economic growth has stood at between two and three per cent as opposed to the four to six per cent growth registered in previous years.

A new MLP administration, he pledged, would reinstate leave for workers in instances where public holidays fell on weekends.

In reference to the recent spat over television debates, Dr Sant invited Prime Minister Lawrence to regular debates on national television but not on ‘variety shows’, which, Dr Sant said, Dr Gonzi himself had privately admitted were not the appropriate venue for political debates.