Government services are paid for out of people's taxes and for this reason any service rendered by a government department should be efficient, Finance Minister John Dalli said yesterday.

He was speaking during a visit to the Consumer and Competition Division, in Sta Venera, during which he was accompanied by parliamentary secretary Edwin Vassallo.

He said that consumer rights could not be limited to the relationship between the consumer and the shopkeeper, but must also be extended to all the services that are offered so that these may be more efficient.

Consumers' rights are already protected by a number of laws, however, there was much to be done before every institution, commercial entity, department and authority had an entrepreneurial mentality based on the concept that the primary duty is to provide a good and efficient service.