Government ‘robbing fuel consumers’, PN says

The Nationalist Party has accused the government of “robbing consumers” as prices at the pump don’t reflect the drop in the international price of oil.

“Despite a record low $40 per barrel, the price being paid by Maltese and Gozitans remains unchanged. This is blatant theft by the government who are being forced to pay prices which do not reflect the international market,” shadow energy minister Marthese Portelli.

She said, that Maltese consumers were paying amongst the highest prices for diesel, with only four countries exceeding the price in Malta.

Insisting that the government should immediately “put an end to this theft”, Portelli said the government should pass on the “benefits it is enjoying from the decrease” to the consumers.

Portelli also said that the government had “slightly reduced fuel prices” ahead of the local councils elections: “No elections mean that families must pay higher prices.”