Żminijietna – Voice of the Left believes that the government should keep to its Budget 2011 promise and publish without haste the studies on energy prices and how they are affecting Maltese families. The mechanism on how prices are worked out should be more transparent.

The increase in prices that we experienced at the beginning of this year gives us a clear picture on how the Maltese families are paying more for their basic energy needs. Families are paying three times as much for a gas cylinder, and they are also burdened with higher energy costs.

We support the trade unions’ call for a compensation to all families to make good for the increase in energy prices. Specifically, we agree with a “one-off lump sump payment” to make good for the increase in the cost of living, that goes back to 1 October 2010, and that any increase in energy prices should be realistically reflected in wages. Notwithstanding the fact that families are already reducing their daily consumption of energy, certain basic necessities like the use of gas cannot be reduced further.

Żminijietna notes with satisfaction the changes in government’s policy to invest in the use of gas in the generation of electricity, in the years to come. This illustrates that the policy to invest in heavy fuel oil was a step in the wrong direction, in terms of costing and environmental issues. It is mostly important that the government directly invests in other sources of energy that are clean and environmentally friendly, such as wind turbines and photovoltaic energy generation.

■ Joe Attard

Żminijietna – Voice of the Left