There was a time when the government of the day was very touchy when people wrote letters and complained about its administration and how certain policies and problems were tackled. The Information Department read and scrutinised all the dailies and its director promptly answered and dealt with all relevant complaints.
Not anymore: Today, one can write, complain and protest and rarely is he heard and offered a solution, or at least an explanation.
Since ARMS Ltd took over the water and electricity bills, the complaints never ceased. Rarely does a week pass without reading a couple of letters about strange cases of wrong billings and other related mistakes.
I still cannot understand why the bills stopped being sent every two months. To send a hefty bill for water and electricity covering nine months makes the family budget disorganised. After this pantomime, one hoped that ARMS Ltd were going to resort to the two-months procedure again. But no, almost four months passed and we still received no bills!
But why should we live through such disruptive services, many are justifiably asking.
I don’t want to go through, again, the ludicrous situation of the energy allowance. What I want to do is to question on what criteria the families with a single mother were not given the energy allowance.
A single mother I know enjoys the energy voucher but, because she lives with her parents, sisters and brothers, the numerous family is cut off from the energy allowance. To be precise, the authorities informed me this is still under consideration!
I expect the government to be more serious and respect the rights, benefits and services due to all the families. Sometimes I think that after so long administering, the government is tired and cannot care less about what we are talking about.
I don’t want to think – as many are doing – that the government is economising and squeezing even the miserable family benefits – God forbid – to balance the deficit and pay the national debt. It would be a shame and a dark blot on the Administration.
On the other hand, I expect the opposition to hammer home harsh criticism and leave no stone unturned before justice is done. I heard only once or twice on One News about 4,000 or 5,000 families not receiving the energy allowance. This is not a trivial problem. Considering the hefty bills for water and electricity services, the high cost of gas and other essential services, the opposition should protest with all its strength through a press conference and if that is not enough even through a protest march.
We have been taken for a ride for much too long now on many issues. Even the unions, especially the General Workers’ Union and the Union Ħaddiema Magħqudin, should speak out and demand an adequate explanation on these urgent matters. I’m afraid everybody seems to take it easy and live and let live. The government is satisfied with this couldn’t-care-less attitude!
One last thing: Another recurring problem which is worrying a lot of people is that of the power cuts. The recent one that affected the south of Malta left many families in Kirkop and Safi and the nearby villages with numerous damaged appliances and white goods. Now why should these families go through hell and a lot of hassle to demand compensation?