Muscat demands freeze on fuel prices

Labour leader Joseph Muscat has called on the government to promise that the prices of fuel and gas will not change until the end of the year.

The opposition was not happy with how fuel prices were being worked out in Malta where they rose whereas in other countries, like Italy, they were falling, Dr Muscat said.

He said it was useless for Finance Minister Tonio Fenech to say that no taxes would be introduced in the next budget but then increase the price of fuel. "It is better to leave €10 in people's pockets than the government's. When the people have money to spend, the economy moves forward but the government is not realising this," Dr Muscat said in an interview on One TV.

He queried how the price of fuel was calculated and what was the regulator doing about it.

The Labour Party would hold a national conference on inflation for all policy makers, including unions, employers and the government, he said.

People were losing their jobs while the government was still looking into the situation, he added.

Mr Fenech had recently compared the Maltese economy to a car with two punctures. However, everyone knew that one could not drive with one, let alone, two punctures, Dr Muscat said. Mr Fenech's example clearly revealed the government's incompetence. Malta needed to move ahead quickly and not slowly; this was a clear example of the government's lack of vision.

A responsible government should not worry about the electoral cycle but whether people had enough money to make it through the month, Dr Muscat said.

The government was not managing at all. This was not even management by crisis for the government was simply not leading the country, he stressed.

People preferred to buy fast food instead of fruit and vegetables because these were expensive, he said. There was something wrong in the pricing system because farmers complained about low prices while families were saying these were too steep. The price monitoring agency promised by the government had to look into this.

Referring to spring hunting, Dr Muscat said the opposition would wait for the decision by the European courts before speaking and this in order not to prejudice the decision. However, there were means of introducing trapping in other seasons in conformity with EU rules.

Turning to the Malta Environment and Planning Authority reform, Dr Muscat said people associated the authority with arrogance. People were expecting the reform to change this while also making the watchdog more consistent and credible, he said.

The opposition still expected someone to take political and administrative responsibility for the development permit granted to Nationalist Party president Victor Scerri in Baħrija and for the alleged fraud in the VAT department.

Speaking about the recently-unveiled plans for Valletta by Renzo Piano, Dr Muscat said it was time for Valletta to have an entrance it deserved. However, the opposition would be vigilant on the project's costing and timeline. It would keep a watchful eye on how and where the money was spent and whether the projects would be completed as per the scheduled set, he said.

"People are suffering because of taxes and want to be assured that there is no theft, waste or corruption. We will make sure that there is accountability and value for money," Dr Muscat said.

Replying, the Nationalist Party said the government was always consistent about the energy prices. While acknowledging that these were a burden on a wide sector of the population, the PN was always clear and truthful - the prices of fuel depended on international prices, the party said. When the price of oil went down, this was reflected in the water and electricity bills and fuel prices, it added.