Updated: Utility rates to be eventually lowered - PM

Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said this morning that the time will come when water and electricity rates will be reduced.

Speaking during a dialogue meeting at Balzan, Dr Gonzi said decisions had never been easy - the government had to show its backbone and the people had to change their behaviour.

The revision of the water and electricity rates was a difficult decision the government had to take to prevent waste as much as possible. At the same time it was helping families in need.

However, “if God wills, even because price of oil has gone down, the time will come when the tariffs will be reduced”, Dr Gonzi said.

He pointed out that the price of refined oil dropped at a later stage than that of crude but the price for water and electricity would go down eventually as had already been the case with the price of fuels.

Referring to the global financial crisis, Dr Gonzi said that Malta was one of the countries which was riding the waves.

Maltese banks had been classified as the third strongest in the world and the European Commission had said that Malta was one of nine countries which would see their economy grow in 2009, albeit at a slower rate than projected.

Dr Gonzi expressed surprise at the Opposition’s behaviour, which, he said, invented all kinds of initiatives to alienate people at such a serious time.

Towards the end of his address, Dr Gonzi said he had ambitions regarding Malta’s potential in tourism.

This could be developed further in certain areas, such as higher education. The collective agreement the government had just signed with UMASA and MUT could be first step towards embarking on this route, he said.