Gonzi calls for savings on energy use

Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi urged the Labour Party yesterday to stop sitting on the fence and take a clear, unequivocal stand in favour of the European Constitution.

It was shameful that the MLP was the only faction within the Group of European Socialists, which had still not pledged its support for the treaty, the Prime Minister charged.

Dr Gonzi promised to do everything within his remit to "renew the country" as he sealed off the Nationalist Party's general council meeting at the San Gorg Corinthia.

Frequently applauded by those present, Dr Gonzi addressed a number of issues during his one-hour speech, from the social pact to the upcoming revision in the water and electricity tariffs.

The Prime Minister indicated that Malta intended to ratify the EU constitution shortly as he urged the MLP to take a stand sooner rather than later. The Labour Party has so far said it was studying the political and legal implications of the Constitution.

But Dr Gonzi said he could not understand what was leading to the delay when opposition leader Alfred Sant himself was a member of the convention which hammered out the EU Constitution.

The EU Constitution yielded several benefits for Malta, Dr Gonzi argued, citing the minimum allotment of six seats for EU members in the European Parliament and the new voting system as prime examples.

The five Maltese MEPs should unanimously say 'yes' to the EU Constitution when the vote comes up in the European Parliament on December 17.

Dr Gonzi gave an indication of the formula to be used for the revised water and electricity tariffs, to meet the costs of spiralling oil prices.

Though he refrained from giving specific details, Dr Gonzi said the proposed changes to the tariffs would be "sensitive" towards those who cannot afford to pay.

Tariffs, he said, would be latched to changing oil prices, and would shift accordingly. The government would closely monitor the impact of any changes on business and industry.

Dr Gonzi said the government wanted to drive the message home of the importance of saving on energy and to encourage people to opt for alternative sources of energy.

Enemalta's losses would shoot up from Lm19 million to Lm26 million if no remedial action were taken, he warned.

He said the government was prepared to continue holding talks with the social partners to hammer out a social pact, and reiterated that he was prepared to commit himself not to raise income tax and VAT for three years if goodwill was shown by the social partners.

Dr Gonzi said he was left aghast to hear the General Workers' Union claim that the consultations on the budget had not started within the Malta Council for Economic and Social Development.

"Perhaps the GWU should for a moment forget about the port reforms and concentrate on the MCESD," he charged.

The Prime Minister laughed off comments that the government had timed the opening of the Mater Dei Hospital in 2007 as some kind of electoral gimmick.

He said his government had a choice to either take the bull by the horns or retain the status quo. The government cannot ignore the loss-making entities like the Malta Drydocks and at the same time pay no attention to the developments on the international scene.

The Nationalist Party was mature enough to tackle even the prickliest issues, irrespective of the fact that it could dent its popularity, Dr Gonzi maintained. But at the end of the day, the Nationalist leader called for an end to polarisation, saying it was high time for everybody to stop seeing things through a blue or red lens.

Investments Minister Austin Gatt made his typical colourful intervention, telling those present that the Nationalist Party would not be held hostage to threats by anybody who was expecting "favours" from the government.

Any reforms would automatically generate controversy and it was therefore no surprise that the government was facing constant attacks.

Thanks to the government's intervention, losses at the Malta Drydocks would be just over Lm8 million for this year, Lm1 million less than projected, Dr Gatt said.

PN general secretary Joe Saliba laughed off suggestions that Nationalist governments have failed to deliver since 1987.

"Who created democracy, who built the airport, the Freeport, who led the country into the European Union?" he asked.

In one of his first interventions following his resignation last July, former Foreign Affairs Minister John Dalli said it was important for the Nationalist Party to take heed of its supporters.

Mr Dalli lambasted the Malta Environment and Planning Authority, accusing it of having an unfocused vision, and that it was putting operators off.