PN MP Jason Azzopardi has called on the government to invoke the 1947 Supplies and Services Act and impose fixed prices on essential food items.

Speaking in parliament on Wednesday, Azzopardi said that many families were complaining of increases in the prices of essential items - especially food.

He explained that the Supplies and Services Act had been implemented in 1947 after World War Two when the situation was such that people were still suffering from the poverty and hunger that the conflict had brought to Malta.

Quoting from the law, Azzopardi said that the Economy Minister can, through this Act, control the prices at which products which are essential to the life of the community can be sold at.

"What are you waiting for?", he questioned.

He noted that France had invoked a similar act in order to control the price of hand sanitizer, noting that the measure can be implemented temporarily for a period of, for instance, three months.

He criticized PL MEP Alex Agius Saliba for calling on the European Commission to impose control and monitoring on unfairly high prices of essential items, noting that Agius Saliba should instead "tell his Economy Minister to wake up".

In this regard, Justice Minister Edward Zammit Lewis said that the government is confident enough in the resources it has to such a point that it does not believe that extreme measures are required.

Azzopardi also used his speech to expose new details about Steward Healthcare, after they submitted their accounts for the year of 2017 yesterday.

He noted that it results that at point, Steward had €5.9 million in VAT arrears - a figure which, he said, has since risen to €16 million; had €27.5 million in net liabilities; and had reported a loss of €18 million - triple the €6 million loss it had reported in 2016.  Its creditors stood at €43 million, he said.

He noted that the company's cash and bank balance amounts only to a meagre €160,000.

"This is wrongful trading", he exclaimed.

The deal for the takeover of three of Malta's hospitals has long courted controversy, not least after it was revealed that there was a €100 million price tag which the government had to pay if the contract between the two was for any reason, including court action, stopped.