The motion presented by the Opposition to cancel the Legal Notice which was published by the Government to further increase the water and electricity tariffs was debated last Monday. Some expected something to happen; especially hoping that some backbencher from the government side would vote for the motion and, as such, against his party. Those who spoke to me were let down by the end result. I was pretty sure that all Government MPs were going to vote against the motion and therefore all voted in favour of higher bills for the families and for the business community.

The government asked what would happen if the motion were approved and the tariffs remained unchanged? The government claimed that higher tariffs are required due to higher oil prices. But how can the Prime Minister explain the fact that when oil was bought at about 110 USD per barrel the consumer paid lower tariffs than when the price of oil per barrel is 80 USD? For this pertinent question no answer has been given to date. Another question which in my opinion urgently requires an answer is that until the last general election the Prime Minister used to say that subsidies are required to protect employment. Now he is saying the contrary: that we need to get rid of subsidies to protect employment. Which statement is the correct one? Of course, during the debate, the Prime Minister and the other Ministers continued to play the same old tune that the Opposition is comfortable with criticising the government without giving solutions.

But even the latter statement is incorrect. The Leader of the Opposition Joseph Muscat gave a number of options and solutions on how to tackle the water and electricity tariffs in various speeches. However, the government is obstinate in not listening to the Opposition, but then they are ready to continue telling the same old story that the Opposition does not propose anything. This is very different from the truth. Just by adjusting the way the tariffs are calculated the consumer would be spared from paying about €15 million.

However, the government has also got to put its priorities in place. This administration cannot continue to spend money as it wishes and then, when the financial situation is in dire straits, turn to the Opposition to find a way out. Another common argument put forward by the government is that if the tariffs are not increased, then the budget for education, health and social protection needs to be decreased. The government never says how the public funds can be spent more intelligently and without over-runs, especially in major projects. For example, the current administration has to be held responsible for buying the RJ 70’s aeroplanes for which the country lost millions of euros. The same applies to the contract of the Fairmont: this time round it was the Malta Drydocks which suffered the loss. These are just two examples out of a long list. One must also ask how efficient the Government is in collecting the taxes due? If what is due is not collected, then we will end up taxing those who have always paid their taxes and also increasing the water and electricity tariffs. Recently, we heard from the Minister for Finance that these are going to be increased to make-up for the deficit as well.

Doing so, especially at this crucial moment when we are experiencing a crisis, is very dangerous and can make Malta uncompetitive. This argument was uttered many times by all social partners including those who opted not to protest. Those who opted not to protest in the vast majority still are not happy with the situation and do not agree with the government and also with the way these tariffs were introduced. With these tariffs Malta has the highest electricity tariffs in the European Union for non-residential users. In fact Malta’s prices were almost 50 per cent higher than the EU average, and this is when one compares them to the first half of 2009. The rates for 2010 imply an increase of about 27 per cent over the rates for 2009. This means that rates for non-residential users are almost double the EU average, hence consolidating Malta’s position as the highest in Europe.

Not only do the tariffs themselves do a lot of harm to the business community, but so does the way they were introduced. There was no consultation before and the government kept all cards close to his chest. This created a lot of uncertainty which of course does not help. Now the Government is saying that talks are underway with the social partners with the understanding that the tariffs will not be decreased. So why discuss with a government that does not listen to the families and the business community, with the latter showing their disagreement with these tariffs both in public and also behind closed doors?

Carmelo Abela

Deputy Speaker & Labour main spokesperson for industry and foreign investment

Email: [email protected]