Gonzi questions Labour's surcharge proposal

Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi yesterday questioned who would be benefiting from the Labour Party's proposal to halve the surcharge on water and electricity, saying that he had found out on Monday that it would not apply to businesses.

Speaking during a discussion meeting in Żejtun, Dr Gonzi said the measure would neither apply to 30,000-odd families, since they were already benefiting from subsidies or not paying the surcharge.

He asked whether those benefiting from it would be the owners of swimming pools or those who do not care about wasting energy.

"We do not need these wrong proposals that have been coming for the past 16 years, but simply measures which give us results," he said.

He also denied claims that he is working alone. "Let us continue working together so that we can have a victory for our country," he said.

Dr Gonzi explained to those present his party's proposals for the environment, which he unveiled in the morning.

Asked why he had not taken Dr Sant's advice not to close Magħtab down, he said this simply would not have made sense and would have caused both environmental and health problems. Not only was Magħtab close to residential areas, but it also had an impact on tourism.

Speaking about the PN's proposal to invest in offshore wind farms, Dr Gonzi said Malta could sell any surplus electricity through the cable which would be built between Malta and Sicily connecting the country to the European network.

He said the proposal to give 10 energy-saving light bulbs to each family over two years would save them some €100 (Lm42.93) a year. This idea had already been tried out at the Finance Ministry, which was saving money on electricity bills.

Pierre Portelli, who was chairing the debate, asked those present to collect €100, which he would give them back, in a bid to show how much each family would be saving.

But those present decided to donate the €450 (Lm193.19) collected to the PN's fund-raising marathon which will be held next week.