The government has remained rather silent on news coming from Brussels that food prices have soared by 9.7 per cent in the 12-month period ending last April.

Before the election, it was giving the people the impression that everything was in control. But, if all this happened at a time when an agreement was in place not to increase prices so as to allow for a smooth changeover from the lira to the euro, what is going to happen from now onwards, considering that the agreement with the businessmen and importers expired?

We are in for a very delicate situation. The price of essential commodities such as milk and bread has increased, quite exponentially, over the past weeks. Families at the lower end of the social scale have already started feeling the pinch. Are they going to end up in the street?

The government should do much more than it is doing. I am not calling for price control. That is a thing of the past. But the government would do well to look at the situation, identify the people who are mostly at risk in such a situation, and come up with the right support for them.

Thankfully, we no longer see beggars in the streets. But, if things remain as they are or even get worse, we will soon start seeing them again.

F. Sammut

Mosta