Postponing the revision of the utility tariffs to March would merely by shifting the problem to the future, Finance Minister Tonio Fenech said today.

He was reacting to an appeal made by the social partners on Friday for the government to put off the decision to early next year so as to allow more time for consultations.

Mr Fenech said when speaking at a political conference that the proposed tariffs were based on the prices which Enemalta had already paid for the oil Malta would use this year and a good part of next year.

The finance minister said the forthcoming budget would see an increase in the funds allocated for tourism, mostly for marketing.

The budget, he said, would have to respond to the reality that economies abroad had slowed down and this would impact on Malta, including on tourism.

Figures issued last week by the National Statistics Office showed a drop in arrivals in September - particularly from the UK, Malta's most important market.

Operators have expressed concern that the situation will get worse, since the UK economy is heading towards recession and Sterling has weakened considerably.

Mr Fenech said that the challenge which the government faced was to bringing about economic growth at a time when international economies were shrinking. The response should be investment, not subsidies.

Among other things, the government would be investing in power generation at Delimara and a submarine cable to link up to the European grid, enabling Malta to buy cheaper electricity. Malta would also be investing in alternative sources of energy.

He said the budget could not ignore the difficult circumstances the world was experiencing, a situation which was different from the scenario early this year. Although the clouds had been on the horizon at the time of the general election, this had turned to rain, he said, and it was impossible to think this would not affect Malta, directly or indirectly.