PM urges energy beneficiaries to come forward

Prime Minister Joseph Muscat has offered an olive branch for those persons who benefitted from tampered smart meters to come forward, reimburse the money which they saved, and pay a penalty without being taken to court.

The prime minister was speaking at a public activity with a cluster of youth Labour followers, in which he discussed the electricity theft scandal, student stipends and co-education in schools amongst other things.

On the theft of electricity...

With regard to the theft of electricity - which it has transpired amounted to €30 million a year - Muscat said that government was determined to resolve the issue.

He warned that the households which benefitted from the tampering of the meters were known but explained that Enemalta would be setting up a unit where these people could come forward, thereby avoiding criminal proceedings taken against them.

"We do not wish to embark on a nationwide witch-hunt," Muscat said, but stressed that the money which was taken will need to be paid back.

"This is a clear case of fraud and we expect these people to pay back the money which they stole," he said adding that they will also be required to pay a penalty, in accordance with the law.

With regard to the persons who organised the 'organised racket', Muscat said that sentencing these persons to prison was not enough, saying that government would be launching civil proceedings to recover the money which it lost, including the €1,500 they were allegedly paid for each tampered meter.

"I will make one thing clear and that is that no one will be allowed to abuse," he said.

Much like in the oil procurement scandal, Muscat said that the government was concerned with catching the 'big fish' involved in the racket, urging persons with information to make use if the Whistleblower's Act and reveal that information.

This week, Konrad Mizzi, the minister for energy, claimed that the former minister in charge of the sector and nationalist MP Tonio Fenech knew about the theft but did not act on it. Fenech later rebuffed the allegation, claiming to have had no knowledge of the theft.

And this morning Muscat said that Fenech's statement 'somewhat surprised' him as an Audit Office report in August 2012 had outlined the issue, just like the media had.

"If Tonio Fenech is claiming to have no knowledge about the case, then I can only come to the conclusion that he did not read the reports," Muscat said.

On stipends...

Muscat said that, contrary to what the Nationalist party had tried to convey during the electoral campaign, the Labour government had increased stipends and he added that it was the intention of government to keep on increasing them by the year.

The prime minister said that stipends served as a means of incentive for youngsters hoping to further their studies, and this was especially true in the case of students having to repeat a year.

"There could be many reasons which lead to a scenario whereby a student has to repeat a year," he said.

"The reality, though, is that these people are investing a further year in order to succeed, and this is exactly why we, as a government needs to support and encourage such persons," he said, but stressed that students couldn't then abuse of the system.

Asked what government's plans were for those youngsters who opted not to stay in school, Muscat said that government aimed to direct these students towards vocational schemes.

"Most of these youngsters do not choose not to stay in school, but rather are often forced due to backgrounds of poverty or criminality," he said.

"It is important to direct these people onto the right path from now," he said.

On an e-government...

Muscat said that one of government's priorities during its legislature was to create and promote a national strategy of digitalisation.

Citing the new Identity cards as an example, Muscat said that government wanted all government services to be available online.

"This is one of the areas which we are going to be working on very hard... we want all services to become digital," he said.

In this way, he said, people will no longer have to leave their homes and spend lots of time in queues.

"We want to create an easily accessible and open government," he said.

On co-education in schools...

Muscat said that it was high time for co-education, where girls and boys attend the same schools, to be introduced.

"The current system in place (where co-ed is not offered in Malta, except for a select number of private schools) is rather pre-historic," he said.

"Through co-education, students could develop new social skills from a young age," he said.