I found it rather strange that while prominence (in The Malta Independent) was given to Minister Pullicino’s reply to my statement on electric cars, our actual statement was not even carried at all.

In my statement, while claiming that it was a positive step that Government had signed an accord with Portugal to facilitate the development of the infrastructure needed to introduce electric cars on the island, I had sought clarification on the following:

a) Some time back, when a Portuguese delegation had visited Malta to teach us about their successful experience in this sector, we were given to understand that they would have been submitting a report to the Maltese government.

b) At a later stage, when I enquired about such a report in Parliament I was officially informed that they had not been tasked to submit any report at all.

c) Given that it is common knowledge that a Committee on Electric Cars is carrying out work on a government report and that on 29 November 2010 I had been informed that the study was still nearing completion I had posed the following questions :

– Does it make sense for the Maltese government to sign a Memo of Understanding without their having presented a technical report to the Maltese authorities – regardless of how positive their experiences might have been in their country?

– Had the local committee completed its work and if so what were its recommendations?

– Is it logical to sign such an agreement with an external partner when government strategy has not been mapped out and finalised yet?

– The news that the Minister drove one of these cars and actually charged them at a particular charging point does not compensate for this lack of information.

I firmly believe that in posing these questions the PL was not sowing any doubts – as the Minister implied – but merely seeking information in the public interest.

■ Leo Brincat MP

Shadow Minister for the

Environment, Sustainable

Development & Climate Change

St Julian’s

Editorial note: What is strange is that it is Leo Brincat who complains that he is not given space in this newspaper.

Mr Brincat is given half a page every Tuesday, and occasionally writes for the Sunday newspaper too.

Mr Brincat issues regular statements through the PL media department – two or three a week – and these are also carried in this newspaper, even when he repeats arguments that he would have made earlier.

We apologise for missing out on the statement he referred to in his letter, but for Mr Brincat to imply that there is some form of conspiracy not to carry his statements is beyond belief.

One final note: Mr Brincat’s letter above is 321 words long; the Minister’s statement was reported in 138 words.