A manager working for a government entity is expected to be charged over corrupt practices for having allegedly threatened his subordinates to vote Nationalist or face the consequences, Labour leader Joseph Muscat said yesterday.
The case is one of those raised by Labour Deputy Leader Anġlu Farrugia following the March election in which the Nationalist Party won by just over 1,500 votes.
Pausing briefly during a question-and-answer session with journalists, Dr Muscat said a man had suggested to his subordinates that they would lose their jobs unless they brought him proof that their vote went to the PN. "This case of corrupt practice will be heard in court in February and we will be following it very closely," said Dr Muscat.
Speaking about the energy bills, he said people are paying a surcharge of 185 per cent when they should be paying 35 per cent after the price of oil dropped.
"It is shocking that the government has not yet rebutted or dismissed the figures presented by the Labour Party (PL). Its silence has proved us correct. It wants to collect money to make good for the deficit which exploded to €200 million," he said calling the situation "institutionalised theft".
He said he agreed with the unions' call on people to pay their bills only at the expiry of the 45-day period allowed by Enemalta.
He referred to the study commissioned by the Malta Resources Authority to verify the workings of the new bills, saying that such reports should have been drawn up before the new rates were issued and not after.
"Although the report confirms that the working of the rates is correct, it doesn't confirm the data's accuracy," he said, adding, with some astonishment, that the document even reveals that Enemalta does not know how many water and electricity meters exist and relies on an assumption.
When asked whether Labour would refund people recently faced with 10-year-old bills after Enemalta claimed they had slow electricity meters, Dr Muscat replied: "The government will probably refund them before the next general election to garner more votes".
He criticised the government for breaking its promise, made in October, to review the utility tariffs when oil prices shift by more than 15 per cent. Since that pledge was made, the price of oil dropped by 45 per cent but nothing was done by the government, he said.
When asked if divorce is still on Labour's agenda, Dr Muscat said he will open the divorce debate and eventually present laws in Parliament while allowing a free vote if the PL is elected to power.