“The water and electricity tariffs have been in the midst of controversy for almost 13 years now since the time when a Labour government wanted to adjust these to invest in the generation of energy. We all remember the PN and its allies criticising the government of the time for being unjust”
Summer has just started and one can also vouch for this from the rising temperature. However, the blues that I am referring to are not the elimination of our respective favourite teams from the World Cup competition, in my case Italy, but the usual political controversy which undoubtedly goes on notwithstanding the World Cup and the heat.
In the so called political debate many questions raised not only by the Opposition but also by civil society and the general public remain unanswered. Of course all this in the name of democracy! Any government is the caretaker of the interests of the public and as such it is in the same interest that the public should be informed of any details that are required. It is not enough to say trust us, and just give the main picture without giving what happens behind the scenes. As we all know, the small print most of the time is more important and is what really matters.
This is what is happening in our country with a number of projects that the government announced with so much hype, but which to date shed more doubts than certainty. I can mention a whole list of projects, some of which were announced just before the last general elections and have been forgotten or whose progress, if any, is not known. Not to mention the allegations surrounding most of these major projects such as the extension of the Delimara project. The generation of electricity is very much needed but this does not justify doing things in a rush and not in a transparent way.
Currently in Parliament we are debating a number of government corporations and authorities to approve their financial estimates and also speak about the way these are operating. In the Enemalta Corporation debate the issue of the tariffs and energy generation were on top of most speeches, mine included. The water and electricity tariffs have been in the midst of controversy for almost 13 years now since the time when a Labour government wanted to adjust these to invest in the generation of energy. We all remember the PN and its allies criticising the government of the time for being unjust and other adjectives.
Years later, the PN in government raises these tariffs, which are becoming a threat to a number of families and to the economic prospects of the country. Today the PN justifies indirectly what a Labour government wanted to do at that time. On a number of occasions I heard them say that the tariffs needed to be adjusted since it was many years since these were raised. Today the government is not raising the tariffs only because of the price of oil, but for other reasons, especially to make good for the investment which is badly needed, but also for inefficiencies and for the deficit. Our competitiveness is at risk with these tariffs and not only families are suffering, but a number of companies are struggling to make ends meet. Malta has some of the highest tariffs in the European Union and our partners, who also happen to be our competitors, have an advantage with regard to these tariffs.
From time to time we also hear about the need to have alternative sources of energy. This is also a must since the EU target to have at least 10 per cent of energy coming from alternative sources is there. Along the years Government mentioned a number of projects but to date we do not know exactly which way to go. Time is passing and I hope that it does not happen, as with the power station extension, that because of urgency things are not done properly. In this case of alternative sources of energy Government should announce its intentions and when these projects are going to start to meet the EU target for our sake and interest.
Other issues were mentioned such as the way Arms Ltd, which is a government company that issues and collects the water and electricity bills, treats the consumer. Their only aim is to collect money from people without being considerate to their problems. I trust that at least, after what was said in Parliament, things will improve and customers will be treated better.
The Employment and Training Corporation was another budget debated. We took the opportunity to talk about the difficulties that employment or the lack of it is having on our economy and society. I mentioned how industry, especially manufacturing, is one of the main pillars in our economy. This sector employs thousands of workers but it was also this sector which along the years lost hundreds of jobs. Gone are the days when we can compete with low wages, although one must add that up to a certain extent our wages are not sky high when compared with other EU Member States. Maybe in the past we gave up too early on certain manufacturing activities such as textiles. We could have tried to go for value added such as the Italians did but this is now history and we should look forward to at least maintain and increase our current industrial base for the benefit of the country.
Carmelo Abela
Labour main spokesperson for industry and foreign investment
Email: [email protected]