On the contrary it has not – so much so that the CMTU urged it to act more responsibly while its president declared that as a result of recent price hikes, budget measures announced for this year have already become irrelevant. Particularly when contrasting recent measures and moves with the smoothing statements made during the budget debate.

Government’s insensitivity has been evident throughout past months and even years.

On practically every issue.

Be it the question of utility bills; the unprofessional manner in which ARMS LTD was set up in spite of the fanfare; the hike in VAT on tourism accommodation; the sheer arrogance by Transport Malta which the Ombudsman felt compelled to dismiss as “an instance of sheer arrogance at its very worst and an example of how a public authority should not treat citizens.”

Government’s handling of the BWSC saga with public funds now being spent to try – in vain – to sway the bad perception and lack of credibility that its handling of the power station extension generated. All as part of a damage limitation exercise.

The same can also be said for the timing and disclosure methods of the increase in ministerial salaries and parliamentary honoraria.

From what was recently disclosed it has become evident that the demarcation lines between the Executive and the House of Representatives have continued to be blurred even further. The latest case that manifestly exposed government’s insensitivity was its questionable gas and fuel hike decision without the slightest hint of prior consultation or notification with the major stakeholders, in spite of the socio-economic disruption they inevitably brought about.

All this has continued to cast further doubts on the standing and clout of the regulator in question, which has long proved to be toothless, as most government regulators invariably happen to be. But there seems to be a general consensus that MRA does indeed beat the others hands down in terms of incompetence and inefficiency.

I personally have nothing against privatisations per se, but if liberalisation is to happen one must ensure that one state monopoly is not replaced by a private sector monopoly. And, as has been manifestly evident also in the telecoms sector, a duopoly sometimes can prove to be even more dangerous and consumer damaging than a monopoly.

The MRA’s evident lack of transparency vis-a-vis players in a dominant position has always left much to be desired.

Whenever I visit families – regardless of their political orientation – they are far more inclined to mention the price of gas even ahead of their concern about the pinch of utility rates like electricity. With the higher fuel prices announced recently, a bad situation has been made even worse.

That government has proved to be mistaken and insensitive was expressed by one and all. From the Chamber of Commerce to the GRTU and all the trade unions.

One cannot accept the government’s weak reaction and feeble accusation that the PL was being opportunistic and superficial by merely showing ignorance of what was happening in international markets.

Even more so when neighbour states like Cyprus, Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and Spain have rates far lower than ours when it comes to unleaded fuel and a number of others regarding diesel too.

The fact that the MRA invariably tries to defend its position without publishing any economic impact studies casts further doubts on the transparency with which this particular regulator operates.

It remains a mystery why it also failed to produce a comparative chart of LPG prices in other European countries when asked to do so by another local daily.

I feel that the PL was showing a strong sense of responsibility when apart from calling for a silent and pacific protest march next Friday, it also tabled a motion in Parliament calling on government to introduce an energy benefit for this year to compensate consumers for the higher fuel and gas prices.

At the time of writing the price of milk products has also gone up and the price of bread is expected to follow suit.

In order to survive, consumers will have to curtail their consumptions in other areas given the higher prices for what are nothing but basic necessities.

Where I tend to disagree with certain economists is in their conclusion that people will not spend and save for the rainy day.

Many people I know – even with a decent income – while admittedly cutting down on their expenditure, are in actual fact in such dire straits that in order to try and cope they have to draw on their own savings to survive. While being more careful with how they use their money, their main concern has suddenly become one whereby their money is proving to be inadequate to meet even their basic needs.

It came as nothing but an insult to read how Liquigas reacted recently by lowering its prices the moment Easygas entered the market.

While the days might be long gone when a regulator is expected to come up with a fixed price, the mere notion of having a regulator merely imposing a maximum price for a product is not exactly what a free market advocates either.

The political impotence of the regulator has been evident since years ago. As way back as January 2009 articles can be traced whereby the same energy regulator was accused of staying mum while being under fire for being accused of failure and ineffectiveness.

If proof was ever needed about government’s insensitivity, one only has to draw on two recent surveys about public worries and concerns.

Firstly that the cost of living has become – as it has been in recent weeks – one of the people’s top worries.

Even more so when realizing that a sizeable chunk of the utility rates we are paying are having to make do for the inefficiency of the energy corporation.

And secondly that according to a recent Eurobarometer survey the number of Maltese who perceive a risk of falling behind on paying utility bills has increased by 6% since 2009, shooting up to some 35%. In fact as a result of this new finding, the Maltese are now among the most likely in Europe to see a risk of falling behind on paying utility bills – in such a manner that they have even surpassed the European average by some 15 percentage points.

Bearing in mind government’s constant boasting that we have long slipped out of recession, the detachment between official figures and the reality on the ground has become even more pronounced.

When respectable institutions like the Chamber of Commerce only last week went on record claiming that the fuel and gas increases are tantamount to a threat to price stability and export led growth there is much little else that one may need add.

Such increases affect our day to day living but they also impact negatively on businesses and businesses also happen to mean jobs as well as our competitiveness.

Meanwhile the government’s boasts that Malta was not hit by any austerity measures become hollower by the hour!

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www.leobrincat.com

Leo Brincat is the Shadow Minister for the Environment, Sustainable Development & Climate Change