Consumers who paid for a rigged electricity smart meter could avoid criminal action if they came forward and settled their dues with Enemalta along with a fine, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said yesterday.

He said the State energy company would soon unveil a scheme in which these consumers can pay for the electricity they stole along with a fine, without the need to involve the police in the matter.

“We are after the big fish. We will not embark on a witch-hunt to find these consumers who have already been identified. We expect them to come to us and settle their dues,” he told young people during a question and answer session at the Aria nightclub in San Ġwann yesterday morning.

He said the consumers would also be expected to supply information to the new unit within Enemalta which was set up to investigate cases of fraud and electricity theft.

We will not embark on a witch-hunt to find these consumers. We expect them to come to us

Dr Muscat also announced that the government would file civil suits against those who pocketed money to install tampered electricity meters, which registered around 80 per cent fewer units than those actually consumed.

It is estimated that those installing such meters were pocketing €1,200 for every domestic meter installed, and much more in the case of industrial meters.

“We will be starting court action to recover the money these people pocketed illegitimately so that this money can be used by the government to fund social and educational programmes,” he said to a roar of applause.

‘Similar rackets the fruit of corrupt legacy’

He said the government was convinced there were other “similar rackets” which were the “fruit of a corrupt legacy”.

He appealed to people with information to take advantage of the recently enacted Whistleblower Act for protection and come forward with information.

He said he was surprised that former Finance Minister Tonio Fenech was denying any knowledge of the smart meter racket, which was costing Enemalta €30 million a year, when this had been flagged up in a report by the National Audit Office in August 2012.

On the Enemalta oil procurement scandal, Dr Muscat said the government intended filing civil suits to recover money pocketed illegally.

Answering a question on the electoral pledge to provide a tablet computer to all children in Year Four, Dr Muscat said he was impressed to see interest from big hardware producers such as Apple and makers of Android products. He said the government was in the process of organising a training programme for teachers.

A consultation process was due to start with the Malta Union of Teachers on implementing another electoral pledge: granting teachers a year’s sabbatical so they could further their studies.

Addressing the issue of truancy in State schools, Dr Muscat said that school-leaving certificates should not be issued for those students who do not attend class.

“We cannot continue being accomplices in this,” he said, adding that the State had to address this problem to save these young people from a life of criminality and poverty.

Dr Muscat also spoke about incentives to encourage the unemployed to find a job. Those receiving unemployment or social benefits will retain these benefits after they find work.

The unemployed would retain 65 per cent of the social benefits for the first year, 45 per cent in the second year and 25 per cent in the third year. Dr Muscat said this would provide these people with a “soft landing”.

Stipend for repeaters

Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said university students who opted to repeat a year rather than shelve their books and stop studying will also receive their stipend.

The payment of stipends to repeaters was already being offered to students in other educational institutions such as sixth forms and the Malta College for Arts, Science and Technology.

This had been pledged in the run-up to the March general election, with Dr Muscat saying that those students who opted to carry on with their studies rather than give up had to be given an incentive to choose this option.

He said that although repeaters were not included in the electoral pledge, and had neither been provided for in the last budget, the government felt they too needed such an incentive.

However, while the government was being flexible, it expected students do their duty and attend lectures, he added.

He said the government was committed to continue raising stipends year on year but warned abuse would not be tolerated.