Minister Austin Gatt has announced that the fuel surcharge will remain the same at a fixed rate of 50 per cent until June. At the same time he announced price increases for petrol, which will also remain fixed at the new price until the end of June.

While the price increases he announced for diesel, kerosene and light heating oil will remain fixed until the end of March. I am certain that readers will note that the expiry date of the freeze on surcharge and prices has been planned to come into effect just after the date of the general election.

The most important point in Dr Gatt’s press conference was when he said: “However, the government is in a good financial position – thanks to hedging agreements on the prices of oil in the first and second quarter of next year”!

This is the same Dr Austin Gatt who had rubbished Labour’s policy of “hedging agreements” which, he used to say, made no sense! Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi had also joined the chorus saying, that whenever Malta signed a hedging agreement, it had lost. Adding that he “was not prepared to play with the people’s money”!!

Well, Labour seems to have taught the PN government something about hedging. Better late than never.

Eddy Privitera

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