Gyms did not cut prices to reflect a lower VAT rate, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat lamented in a New Year message to journalists and the social partners yesterday.

Briefly drawing on various Budget measures that came into effect this month, he urged the media to expose such matters. The VAT rate on sports activities was cut from 18 to seven per cent in the last Budget.

“It is a free market and there is little the government can do but this is where the media can play a role,” he said.

On a humorous note, Dr Muscat pointed out he was not standing in a kitchen.

The comment was in reaction to the public ridicule poured on a New Year broadcast in which the Prime Minister was filmed chatting with a couple in a top-notch kitchen.

The couple were supposedly first-time home buyers, a fact later proved to be incorrect.

Speaking at the Labour Party headquarters in Ħamrun, Dr Muscat described 2016 as a year of “consolidation”. March would mark the start of Labour’s fourth year in office.

He said reforms in the energy sector, the labour market and the social sphere would continue, singling out changes at Air Malta as a major upcoming decision. The government was committed to ensure the national air carrier’s workers had a future, Dr Muscat said.

There have been reports that Etihad is expected to buy a significant stake in the national airline.

“We will engage with civil society and submit ourselves to media scrutiny. Mistakes will be made but we are committed to rectify them,” Dr Muscat said.

kurt.sansone@timesofmalta.com