Opposition leader Simon Busuttil said this evening that the Opposition would be  announcing short and long-term measures to tackle transport problems after the government's roadmap for this sector turned out to be non-existent.

Speaking in Parliament in his reply to the Budget speech, Dr Busuttil also argued that current energy tariffs are undermining economic competitiveness because they do not reflect circumstances because of low oil prices.

He said that while tariffs could go down due to lower oil prices and much lower power generating costs, the government was not budging because it was building a power station it did not need with a commitment with Electrogas to buy energy at higher cost - 9c6 per unit for 18 years. A future PN government, he said, would buy electricity from the cheapest source and Electrogas could keep their's.

In August, he said, the interconnector was working at 97% capacity, yielding 62% of Malta's total power needs. The cost was 6.3 per unit and yet the government was charging the people 10c5 per unit.

Dr Busuttil also hit out at the government for planning to reduce the petrol price by only 3c per litre and diesel  by 4c, saying these were ridiculous amounts which also undermined economic competitiveness, while frustrating motorists.  

The government could reduce prices, but it was refusing to do so and was instead pocketing the savings it was making from the low international price.

COSTS OF TRAFFIC CONGESTION

It was now official, Dr Busuttil observed, that fuel prices were being kept high to reduce traffic. And even here, the government had not succeeded.

Keeping fuel prices high did not lead to lower traffic. People would not travel to work or school more if they had lower prices. People would only use their car less if they had suitable alternatives, but the present government kicked out Arriva, eroded people's confidence in the bus service and was now paying the consequences, including tripling the subsidy for the new bus operator. 

GOZO TUNNEL - THREE WASTED YEARS

Dr Busuttil said the Opposition was disappointed that the government had wasted three years by not immediately following up the former government's plans for a tunnel between Malta and Gozo. Instead the present government brought over a blacklisted Chinese company to consider a bridge. Now without the least apology, the government was discarding the bridge and going back to the tunnel the PN had proposed.

Dr Busuttil said that in view of the government's failures, the Opposition would be working on measures which may be taken short term to address traffic problems. The exercise would be headed by shadow minister Marthese Portelli.

At the same time a study headed by Tonio Fenech would consider long-term infrastructural needs to tackle transport problems, including alternative forms of transport.

ECONOMIC SUSTAINABILITY UNDER THREAT

At the start of his speech, Dr Busuttil said that the government was undermining the sustainability of economic growth. There was far too much emphasis on government spending in the economy. Recurrent spending was rising by €200 million. At the same time, capital investment would be reduced by €125 million next year.  

Economic growth could not be sustainable if the government continued to employ people in the way it was doing - 5,500 in two years.

At the same time the government had, between August and April struck off 1,353 from the unemployment register even though they did not find a job. Fighting benefit fraud was praiseworthy, but action had to be fair.

It also appeared that a Community Work Scheme would be handled through a private agency, a way how to hide unemployment or government employment.

Dr Busuttil said, that since the elections, exports were down by a shocking €700 million. If one deducted oil product exports, the figure was still down by €300 million. Manufacturing was down by €90 million and the government was not coming up with new areas of economic activity. 

The government needed to think as of now what it would do when there were no more EU funds to help the economy. 

The Shadow Minister for the Economy, Claudio Grech, was working on the PN's vision for the economy and would publish a document entitled  An Economy for the People. 

INFLATION HIGHEST IN EUROPE, AVERAGE WAGE HAS DROPPED

Dr Busuttil said it was a matter of concern how inflation, at 1.6 per cent, was by far the highest in Europe. This was one consequence of the high fuel and electricity prices in Malta. Even worse, inflation was worst in food prices.

At the same time, the average wage in Malta had actually decreased. The Economic Survey issued by the government said the average weekly wage in 2012 was €349.50. Now, it was €348.30. 

PENSIONS LIE

Dr Busuttil said it was a lie for the government to have claimed that the pensions raise announced in the Budget was the first in 20 years. Under this government, more people were at risk of poverty. The PN had proposed second pillar pensions as a way to ensure pensions were sustainable. The government said 'no' because it would mean an increase in social security contributions.

And then the government itself added a year to the social security contributions needed by those born after 1968 in order to qualify for a pension.

FORMER ONE REPORTERS HAVING 'ONE BIG PARTY'

In the last quarter of his speech, Dr Busuttil said the government 'betrayed' the people when it promised good governance, accountability and transparency and delivered exactly the opposite.

There was a scandal practically every day by a shameless government. This was a government whose people were gobbling up everything like there was no tomorrow. 

Former Super One reporters had been engaged by the government on salaries of between €37,000 and €49,000 to then go back to Super One and elsewhere to insult the Opposition.  

A former floor manager was now getting €69,000 and Norman Hamilton was getting in excess of €90,000 in his role as High Commissioner to the UK.  

Minister's relatives were also having a very good time through memberships on various boards. Among them were the father of Konrad Mizzi, the mother of Chris Fearne, the wives of Luciano Busuttil and Silvio Schembri and the brother of Stefan Buontempo. Justyne Caruana had engaged her husband on the board of governors of the financial services intelligence unit.

Toni Abela, deputy leader of the Labour Party was involved in three consultancy jobs in areas he was not specialised in.

Dr Busuttil listed various 'scandals' involving ministers including Cafe Premier, the hedging agreement with Socar, the Gaffarena properties and Michael Falzon's early retirement scheme. He said the Minister of Economic Services had not denied that he was involved in a business with his own chief of staff. This was unbecoming of a minister. 

It was also being alleged that Mepa had issued a permit to Parliamentary Secretary Ian Borg when the same permit was refused in the past. He had reportedly bought a property at a very cheap price and relatives of the seller were saying he had abused from the fragile state of an elderly person.   

And the prime minister, instead of condemning the scandals, was harking to the past. It was about time the prime minister had a good look at himself and his ministers. The prime minister's philosophy was that money was everything and people could be bought in order to keep their mouth shut. 

His vision, Dr Busuttil was to bring in a mentality of high standards, European standards not motivated by money but by decency and honesty. The government could have done more, and the PN would show the people they could get a government they deserved, with the dignity they deserved.