MLP spotlights surcharge burdens

It was shameful that in spite of all the government's promises to study the social impact of the water and electricity surcharge, no concrete action had been taken, the Labour Party's spokesman on Social Solidarity, Marie Louise Coleiro, said.

She said Social Solidarity Minister Dolores Cristina had committed herself to study the impact of the surcharge on social cases. The Prime Minister had also declared the government was looking into exempting more families from the surcharge, but nothing had taken place.

Ms Coleiro presented the bills of three families who, she said, could be considered as social cases. The first was of a family with an 18-year-old suffering from a severe disability and who required air conditioning throughout the year. In addition, because the youth was incontinent, the washing machine was operated constantly. This family had to pay a surcharge of Lm73.41.

In another case, a couple on a pension of Lm66 a week who lived with two 40-year-old unemployed men, had to pay a surcharge of Lm33.75. The couple were not exempt from paying the surcharge because their pension exceeded the threshold by Lm5 a month.

In the third case, a widow bringing up an 11-year-old and whose separated daughter with two children also lived with her, had to pay a surcharge of Lm40 because she was Lm3 over the threshold.

Ms Coleiro said that not only had the government not rectified the situation but it had reduced the number of exempt families from 13,000 to 10,700.

She insisted on the need of a serious study on the social impact of the surcharge and for immediate action to be taken.