Chamber asks Muscat to lower utility tariffs ahead of 2015

The Chamber of Commerce has asked Prime Minister Joseph Muscat to anticipate the date of March 2015 to lower utility tariffs for industry as soon as possible.

In a dialogue meeting with the prime minister, the Chamber's president David G. Curmi stated that energy costs remained the main concern of industry and business.

"In the U.S electricity costs revolve around 4c, in striking contrast with the local cost of 18c. At least bring it down to the EU average of 9c," the Chamber president told Joseph Muscat.

On his part, the Prime Minister said he understood their concern but said that the time-frames issued in the budget, which sees the reduction of residential electricity tariffs next March and commercial tariffs in 2015, were "the most reasonable time-frames we could come up with."

"It is easy for me to moan and groan about what we inherited from previous administrations, but we are more interested in the future rather than the past. Energy was, and remains, a key challenge for our country both as the cost component as well as production. The time-frames we issued in the budget were the most reasonable, but that does not mean we are not continuously looking at other alternatives," Muscat said.

During his speech, the Chamber’s president also complained about the Malta Council for Economic and Social Development (MCESD), which according to him was losing relevance through the matters brought to the agenda.

“The MCESD is losing its autonomy, as can be displayed by the fact that it meets in the ministry for social dialogue. That’s no neutral ground. In addition to this, we feel there is a huge lack of resources with no room to commission independent research and studies,” Curmi said.

Commenting on the Individual Investors Programme (IIP), Curmi welcomed that the issue was now closed, but hoped for a better handling and political consensus on the issue.

He appealed for the government’s support in the manufacturing industry after Malta lost its objective one status and thus regional aid will substantially drop.

The Prime Minister expressed his satisfaction that members of the Chambers of Commerce committed themselves to absorb the 110 workers who are expecting to be made redundant by Arrow Pharm. He also thanked the Chamber for its’ very proactive approach during the past year.

The Prime Minister was accompanied by deputy Prime Minister Louis Grech, and members of the cabinet Edward Zammit Lewis and Edward Scicluna.

The dialogue meeting continued behind closed doors.