Surcharge cut 'will not encourage waste'

The Maltese were paying 65 per cent more than the European average for their water and electricity considering the rates in terms of purchasing power, Alfred Sant said yesterday.

With Labour's proposal to reduce the surcharge by half, that 65 per cent would go down to 30, the Labour leader said in an interview on One TV.

This, he said, showed that Labour's proposal would not encourage people to waste these resources. Moreover, Labour would also promote the use of alternative sources of energy.

Dr Sant said that Labour would give utmost priority to safeguarding the country's natural heritage, not by abandoning development but with the way the necessary development was undertaken.

A golf course or a yacht marina, for example, should be stand-alone and not an excuse for further development.

Labour would also introduce a complete waste separation system that could be implemented from beginning to end. The Maltese were not yet organised to separate waste, with only five to seven per cent of waste being separated due to this lack of organisation.

On financial services, the Labour leader said it was time to set up a commission to take a look at this sector and see what needed to be done in the next 10 years. He spoke of tripling the volume of work in the sector in a reasonable time.