It is a good initiative to have food that would otherwise be going to waste to be distributed to voluntary organisations which, in turn, will hand it over to people in need.

Last Monday, the government announced that the "Zomm tarmix" scheme is intended, apart from reducing the volume of food that goes to waste, to help people in need.

What will happen is that the Malta Food Agency will be bringing businesses to donate food which is about to expire to voluntary organisations. The exercise will also be beneficial to the donors as they will be able to qualify for tax reduction incentives.

One hopes that the system will work as efficiently as indicated during its presentation, with Prime Minister Robert Abela and Agriculture Minister Anton Refalo both also emphasising the principle of social justice, with people in need receiving assistance from others in order to lead a better life.

But, as usually happens in Malta, the presentation of the idea was followed by political bickering.

The Nationalist Party issued a statement saying that while the government never misses a chance to accuse the PN of not having good ideas, it then took credit for what is proposed by others. The PN said that two years ago, the PN had initiated a discussion on poverty and food waste, suggesting that food waste should be reduced and one way of doing this was to ensure that food surplus reached individuals and families in need.

The PN said that a private member's bill was presented by Nationalist MP Ivan Bartolo, but in spite of several attempts by the Opposition, the government never brought the subject up for discussion. "Robert Abela has now copied and stolen this proposal, launching the initiative as if it were his own".

It said it was the second time in 24 hours that the PL had copied from the PN, mentioning the granting of leave to parents who lose a child during pregnancy.

The Labour Party was quick to reply, saying that the initiative was in the PL's election manifesto in 2022, and that the PN was disseminating false information when it said that it had been the first to come up with the idea.

The PL said that it was doing nothing more than implementing its electoral pledge that will translate into less waste and more food products accessible to the public at a reduced price. The idea was another decision taken to strengthen social justice.

Both parties want to take the credit for this initiative. Their political bickering spoilt the positive feeling of the initiative, and once again exposed a situation in which the two sides of the House are at each other's throats in a bid to attract votes.

It is a pity that whatever happens in Malta is given a political tinge, with the PL and the PN trying to take credit, rather than see that more and more positive ideas are put forward and implemented, possibly in a united front, especially when they are to be of benefit to one and all.