The action taken by the government to put an end to the theft of electricity from Enemalta is to be welcomed. The claim that the debt-stricken State-owned corporation was losing €30 million a year in lost revenue as a result of the smart meter racket is indeed very worrying; it is also a slap in the face to ordinary law-abiding consumers who regularly pay their energy bills.

Energy Minister Konrad Mizzi deserves credit for trying to end this scandalous abuse; he said last week that Enemalta has been receiving a “phenomenal” number of tip-offs about the theft of electricity since the smart meters scandal first surfaced.

Dr Mizzi also revealed that some of the information received related to the 1,000 tampered smart meters, but there were many other cases, which showed that this was a widespread problem; this is certainly cause for concern.

The minister claimed the former government had in 2010 disbanded a compliance unit at Enemalta aimed at combating theft on the pretext that modern technology had made remote monitoring possible, and that the Labour government had soon after its election set up a new unit to tackle theft, which led to last week’s allegations surfacing.

A statement by those responsible for Enemalta in the previous government, to explain exactly why this unit had been disbanded, would certainly be in order. People have a right to know why such a decision was taken, and who gave the advice that such a compliance unit was not needed.

The important thing now is that the government insists on proper governance and better internal control procedures at Enemalta that will eliminate once and for all the possibility of such blatant theft and a fairer distribution of the cost of electricity among consumers.

Three people have been charged in court with bribery and tampering with smart meters, and one has already been given a jail sentence; others are expected to be arraigned shortly.

Such a swift arraignment is commendable; however, the government has announced that consumers who made use of the adjusted smart meters, and who effectively stole electricity and bribed officials for such a service, are to be given an amnesty for their crime and have a six-week deadline to regularise their position.

They will be required to pay back the money they owe to Enemalta plus a penalty equal to 10 per cent of the defrauded amount. Such a decision is ill-advised, sends out the wrong message and sets a dangerous precedent. Justice Parliamentary Secretary Owen Bonnici said the government wanted to catch “the spider that spun the web” rather than the “small fish” when speaking about the amnesty.

However, as Nationalist deputy leader Beppe Fenech Adami correctly pointed out those who made use of tampered electricity meters could hardly be considered “small fish” as they had benefited on average by €30,000 each.

Furthermore, the government’s claim that paying money to officials to rig smart meters is not equal to bribery has a shaky legal basis. How can paying an Enemalta official to adjust one’s meter in order to pay much less for electricity consumed not amount to bribery?

The police, however, are obliged by law to carry out investigations for bri­bery and arraign those responsible in court. Since the police are independent of the government, that is exactly what they should do.

In the past, people have been charged in court for bribing officials at the VAT Department and at Transport Malta. Why should bribing officials at Enemalta be any different?

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