People caught stealing electricity will now face fines worth up to 200 per cent of the amount stolen, under new amendments passed last week.
Previously, the fine amounted to 10 per cent of the cost of the stolen electricity but the government has raised the bar through a legal notice.
“We could not have a situation where it paid to take the risk and steal electricity because the fine made it worth it.
“Now, through a new legal notice, the fine has gone up from 10 per cent to 200 per cent, over and above the settling of bills for stolen electricity,” Prime Minister Muscat said in a radio interview yesterday.
The stiffer penalties come after a widespread smart meter racket was uncovered earlier this year, with the government claiming that such theft cost taxpayers up to €30 million.
According to last week’s legal notice, repeat offenders will face a 400 per cent surcharge on the amount stolen.
Dr Muscat said the project to build a new power station was “on track” and, come March, businesses would also benefit from a 25 per cent average cut in their power bills. People caught stealing electricity through tampered smart meters were given the opportunity to come forward and help in investigations. Those who did not take advantage of this opportunity are now being summoned to appear in court.
Dr Muscat said the government was seeking social justice by ensuring that people paid their bills. To this end, those who had outstanding payments were being given the opportunity to avail themselves of a scheme that slashed interest on arrears.
He also spoke about ARMS Ltd, the company entrusted with collecting revenue on behalf of Enemalta and the Water Service Corporation, and said it was “in a disastrous state”.
During the radio interview, Dr Muscat also spoke about the lower unemployment rate and what he termed as remarkable improvements in economic growth.
“It does not mean all is rosy. There are still people who cannot find a job.
“In the next Budget, we will have measures so those who want to work can find a job,” he said.
On the cash-for-citizenship programme, Dr Muscat said this was attracting a lot of interest from “big investors” who were looking for quality properties.
Addressing criticism by the Opposition in relation to the fact that the programme’s monitoring committee had not yet been convened to scrutinise the list of people granted citizenship under the scheme, Dr Muscat promised it would meet according to law.
Dr Muscat said the PN had committed a mistake when it attributed to the Labour government poverty figures relating to 2012, when there was a Nationalist administration.
“At least, now there is consensus that poverty is not just a perception as they used to say but something real and that we are doing our best to eradicate it,” he said.
Asked about the sale of Australia Hall, Dr Muscat said the property in Pembroke was acquired from the government when the old party headquarters, the Freedom Press, a prime site in Marsa, had been requisitioned by the government for the Malta Shipbuilding. Dr Muscat insisted that the Pembroke property was far from being worth €10 million.
Now, he said, it was being claimed that Labour had under-declared the value of the sale to evade tax, yet, political parties were not subject to tax on property sale, a legal provision that had been introduced by the PN itself. The PN, Dr Muscat said, was showing how “amateurish” it was.