Some enlightenment would help

About five days ago I went to one of the retailers in Naxxar to collect my allowance of eight free, energy-saving lamps. The shopkeeper informed me that the lamps with the narrow screw-in sockets are out of stock. I visited other official retailers but, to my disappointment, this type of lamp was out of stock from all the outlets. One shopkeeper was kind enough to advise me not to waste my time and visit other outlets because the narrow screw-in socket lamps were not found anywhere.

I called the Ministry for Resources and Rural Affairs and the lady who answered my call informed me that the ministry was not responsible for this issue and that I should contact the Malta Resources Authority on an e-mail address she provided.

I wrote to MRA as instructed and, believe it or not, I received a reply from a certain Sinclair Borg informing me that MRA was not responsible for such matters. The authority's main responsibility is to ensure that the lamps are according to the official standard.

I called the ministry again and informed the lady who answered my call about my problem and the MRA's reply. She replied that I should continue chasing MRA because the ministry's main responsibility in this case concerns those persons who did not receive the form for the free lamps.

I wrote to MRA once again but this time I demanded a solution to my problem. The solution, wrote back Mr Sinclair, was to procure the wide screw-in bulbs because, according to him, I have use of this type of bulbs at my residence. What he does not know, however, is that I use more narrow sockets than the latter ones.

Notwithstanding the way I was treated with these pathetic replies and that nobody wants to shoulder the responsibility for the non-availability of the bulbs in question, I have been denied the privilege of collecting the lamps, which I require most and, most important of all, I will not be making any saving on my electricity bills; unless, of course, somebody has the courage to state what really happened in this case and supply the retailers with the narrow screw-in socket lamps.