Editorial

Contrary to what one may think, it is not always politically counter-productive for a political party to make empty promises. When traders were given the impression before the 1996 general election that Labour would do away with value added tax if they were elected, many did away with their cash registers and voted for the Labour Party.

But after the election, they still had to retain the cash registers and VAT was later replaced by CET. Now Labour is promising to halve the water and energy surcharge if they are elected but the way they plan to do this is not credible, at least if judged on the basis of what the party has been saying up till now.

So, unless the MLP decides to explain its proposal in detail, it may well be considered as a political gimmick.

When Labour leader Alfred Sant brought up the promise again at the party's general conference last Sunday, he said they would be able to implement their promise within the framework of what he called an extensive policy that would encourage alternative energy sources, such as photovoltaics and other energy-saving methods. The consumer, he said, should not be made to suffer because of the government's incompetence.

The Labour leader speaks about possibilities of tapping renewable energy sources as if the subject is being raised in the country for the first time ever. This, of course, is not the case at all. In fact, the matter has been raised for many, many years, and, to the island's shame, no government, Nationalist or Labour, has made inroads.

As other countries in the Mediterranean, such as Cyprus, made considerable progress in tapping renewable energy, Malta looked on, preferring to talk about it than to put it at the top of the agenda and actively do something about it.

With the price of crude oil hitting new record levels and calls for the use of renewable energy mounting in the urge to fight climate change, the situation has changed dramatically today.

Indeed, it is no longer possible for the island to just pay lip-service to the need of tapping new sources for, besides the fact that financial pressures are now forcing the country to take the matter far more seriously than in the past, Malta today is actually required to conform to policies in this regard drawn up by the European Union.

Only the other day, Malta learned that it is expected to have 10 per cent of all its energy needs coming from renewable energy sources within 12 years. It is also expected to raise its use of biofuels up to 10 per cent of all the fuel used for transport purposes. Malta is said to be starting from scratch as the level of energy from renewable sources in 2005 stood at only 0.36 per cent, the lowest in the EU.

A government spokesman is reported to have said that the targets were reachable but that this would take time.

However, the government was ready to invest heavily in this sector in the coming years.

True, more and more people are using solar water heaters than ever before and there has also been increased use of photovoltaics but catching up with the time lost in seriously going for renewable energy will take time, a very long time and a lot of hard work and sheer determination.

A former Labour minister has called the MLP's promise to halve the water and energy surcharge injudicious.

It is, but, as The Times has already remarked, it is also a political gimmick, more blatant in nature than that over VAT before the 1996 general election. The electorate should not let Dr Sant and his party get away with it this time.