Labour’s wait and see on how to lower utility bills

People have to wait until election time to know the Labour Party’s proposals on how to reduce water and electricity tariffs, according to Joseph Muscat.

Interviewed yesterday on Church radio RTK, the Labour leader was answering questions from listeners when he asked them to bear with him until the next election.

“Lawrence Gonzi only an­nounced the reduction of income tax to 25 per cent 30 days before the election, on the second day of the electoral campaign. I will choose the timing when to say how a Labour government will lower water and electricity bills,” Dr Muscat said, insisting the proposal would be in the electoral programme.

He pointed out that last year the PL had proposed a change in the formula used by the government to calculate the return on capital used by Enemalta, which would have helped cut bills by some €15 million.

“The reason for such high bills is not the price of oil because this has gone down since the tariffs were introduced,” Dr Muscat said, insisting people were paying for inefficiencies.

Twice during the interview Dr Muscat remarked that some of the telephone calls consisting of very similar questions were orchestrated from Pietà, in a direct reference to the Nationalist Party headquarters.

Asked whether it was wise for him to insist the government reduce income tax now at a time when the country could not afford it, Dr Muscat reiterated that Dr Gonzi had to honour his pledge.

“The Prime Minister depicted the income tax cut as an umbrella to shield people and the economy from the problems he was seeing on the horizon. When the storm came, Dr Gonzi removed the umbrella,” he said, calling on the Prime Minister “to put the money where his mouth was”.

Dr Muscat added he believed in a low tax economy, which would stimulate growth and generate jobs.

“Taxes should be shifted onto pollution rather than work,” he said, describing this as a generational shift.

Asked about the impact of the recession on other countries and how Malta escaped relatively unscathed, Dr Muscat said people were reading about economic growth in the newspapers but were not feeling it in their pockets.

On Air Malta, Dr Muscat said he would be meeting the government in the coming days to discuss the future of the airline.

“I do not want to prejudge the meeting but I will be seeking some clarifications on feedback we received from Brussels on the government’s request to inject funds in the airline,” he said, insisting the PL wanted to have access to all information and be informed of the government’s intentions.

He reiterated the party was against the airline being privatised because it was a strategic asset for the country.