‘Idealistic’ Busuttil insists his duty owed to the public, not to ElectroGas

Opposition leader Simon Busuttil has reiterated that a future Nationalist government will not tie itself down into purchasing electricity from ElectroGas, regardless of an 18-year agreement signed between the consortium and Enemalta.

 “Electricity from ElectroGas’ power station will cost Enemalta 9c6 per unit, whereas electricity from the interconnector costs 6c3 per unit,” Busuttil said on Monday night’s edition of Reporter. “The government has entered a binding contract to purchase electricity from ElectroGas, even though it might have a chance of purchasing it a cheaper rate from the interconnector.”

Describing himself as “idealistic”, Busuttil insisted that he intends to clean up politics and that he will soon announce a good government package that he will apply to the public sector if he becomes Malta’s next prime minister.

One of his harshest criticisms of the Labour government is its dogged refusal to publish several public contracts; indeed, its refusal to publish its contract with ElectroGas appears to have taken a bearing on Busuttil’s controversial move.

“Why should I tie myself down to a contract that the government has consistently refused to publish, and whose contents remain a mystery to me?” he questioned. “My responsibility is to the public, not to ElectroGas.”

During a speech in Parliament on Monday evening and a subsequent press conference, Busuttil insisted that electricity tariffs should be around 30% cheaper than they currently are.

Reporter host and MediaToday managing editor Savour Balzan quizzed Busuttil as to whether this stance risks damaging his credibility, given that the Labour government has reduced electricity prices by 25% as promised by Prime Minister Joseph Muscat while in opposition.

However, Busuttil insisted that circumstances in the energy sector are completely different than what they were back in March 2013.

“The market price of oil has plummeted around 50%, the BWSC power station has become more efficient, and the completion of the interconnector has given us a cheaper option from where to purchase electricity,” Busuttil explain. “Maltese businesses have to compete with foreign businesses who have enjoyed a significant electricity price reduction since the dip in the price of oil. Now that circumstances have changed, why don’t we adapt to them to the benefit of consumers?”

‘Labour’s traffic roadmap has failed’

In his parliamentary speech, the Opposition leader had particularly harsh words for the government’s failure to solve Malta’s notorious traffic problem and insisted that transport minister Joe Mizzi has broken the public transport system.

He quipped that it is now less time-consuming for people to travel from Cottonera to Gzira on foot or by bicycle during peak traffic hours than it is for them to make the distance by car or by “one of Joe Mizzi’s buses”.

Balzan repeatedly questioned Busuttil whether governments past and present have failed to solve the traffic problem because they weren’t ready to take tough decisions that involve removing private cars off the roads.

“The government should develop an alternative public transport system that is so effective that it would make more sense for people to travel with it rather than use their private cars,” Busuttil said. “I have no problem criticizing previous Nationalist administrations, but let us not forget that the Labour Opposition had promised that it had a roadmap to solve traffic, that included improvements in public transport.

“Instead, the subsidy to the private bus company has increased, the bus fares have increased, and the service hasn’t improved.”

Busuttil stands by his numbers, insists low unemployment a ‘manipulation’

In brief comments to the press, Joseph Muscat rubbished his opponent’s speech as one “riddle with mistakes and lies”.

However, on Reporter, Busuttil stood by the statistics used in his speech and insisted that they had all been gleaned from the National Statistics Office, Eurostat and the government’s own economic surveys.

Balzan argued that official statistics state that the public sector workforce has increased by 2,000 people since 2013, in contrast to Busuttil’s claims that it has increased by 5,500 people.

Busuttil stuck by his numbers though, and explained that he had come up with the final figure [5,500] by taking into account that around 1,500 people retire from the public sector every year.

He also insisted that the government is manipulating Malta’s statistically low unemployment rate by increasing the public sector, by cutting people off the unemployment list, and by transferring unemployed people from the public unemployment registry to a private agency through the Community Works Scheme.