Letter | Wednesday, 01 October 2008

FOI replies to BT on surcharge issue

In reply to your Editorial (Business Today, 24 September 2008), the statement declaring that people do not know what employers think about the cost of energy is simply incorrect. The Federation of Industry, for one, has made many statements and published its opinion in articles on the issue of oil prices on several occasions. Suggestions have also been made by the FOI on long-term policy, through aforementioned articles in other newspapers, as well as being discussed with ministry officials, and at MCESD level. The issue remains that the price of oil is still very high. It is imported into Malta and has to be paid for by either the taxpayer or the user. Unfortunately there is no other way out as maneuvering is limited.
As regards the comment in said Editorial about the FOI’s statement on the shipyards, this was a particular issue where a sector group within the Federation was concerned about the yards stopping all contracts prior to privatisation, which would affect the industry. As mentioned in our statement, this industry, which supports many firms will all be affected badly unless action is taken. Also if no new work is taken in for the 2008/2009 season, a further 300 employees will suffer. So it is not just a case of one private company losing its contracts with the Shipyards, as printed in the Editorial, but an entire sector which has managed to flourish since its inception just six years ago.
These two issues are not related. There are other ongoing issues and the Federation will make appropriate public interventions as and when it deems it necessary.

Ray Muscat
Director-General
Malta Federation of Industry

Editorial Note: On 13 September, this newspaper sent a set of questions to the FOI enquiring about its position on the price of oil and surcharge rates. After the email was ignored, three additional reminders were sent. On Monday 22 September, we received a reply reading: “the FOI is not in a position to comment on this issue”. The editorial comment the FOI is referring to was based on their own statement.

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