Labour consistent on power tariffs promise - Muscat

Labour leader Joseph Muscat observed this evening that while the government had up to recently said that Labour could not reduce power tariffs as oil prices continued to go up, it was now declaring that it would absorb the costs as oil prices still went up.

Speaking at Ta' Giorni, Dr Muscat said it would not be a surprise if the government even announced a reduction of the tariffs.

He said that Labour was being consistent in saying that it would bring down the tariffs. It would do so by being wise in its actions, by using the latest technology and by converting the power station to gas, removing the dependence on oil.

Dr Muscat recalled that before the 2008 general elections, the government also said it would not raise the power surcharge, but the decision was reversed in one of the first Cabinet meetings after the election was won.

The people would not be tricked, Dr Muscat said. Thy were realising who was being consistent and truthful. 

He said that the government had first criticised Labour's plan to opt for gas to fuel the power station, but now it too was saying that its ultimate objective was to convert the power station to use gas. That decision, Dr Muscat said, should have been taken from the outset, saving considerable costs for Maltese taxpayers.

He noted that after the Standard and Poor's downgrade of Enemalta, the government had said it would absorb €25m of the corporation's costs. But the government had still not said where this money would come from.

Neither had the government said how it intended to cut spending of €8.5 million from the cash-strapped health sector as part of the spending cuts ordered by the EU.