Can the National Euro Changeover Committee explain in detail, without hiding behind technicalities, why they agreed to round up certain brands of cigarettes as he said that the machines could not take in the new coins when these were tested last July?

How were the tests made?

Who was present during these tests?

Couldn’t the machines be replaced in six months?

Did NECC consult the consumers section about this ‘technical’ hitch?

Why was this allowed? This “reasonably” encourages more “legal” rounding up of prices from January to the end of March and then, on 1 April, we shall have an explosion of prices.

Maybe the NECC is too busy to answer as it would be looking up all the surveys, percentages to announce that the changeover was a resounding success!

Philip Pace

Sliema