Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1516790
maltatoday | SUNDAY • 3 MARCH 2024 7 INTERVIEW The following are excerpts from the interview. The full interview can be found on maltatoday.com.mt as well as our Facebook and Spotify pages. Scan this QR code to see the full interview. Last summer's power cuts: Can you ensure the situa- tion does not repeat itself this summer? Investment is being carried out to prepare the country for the situa- tions we had last summer. Let's not forget the UN labelled them 'boiling temperatures'. Several other inter- national organisations stated the temperatures shattered records Eu- rope-wide. All this investment is being carried out to ensure we are resilient in such situations. We promised investment, we are carrying out that investment and people are seeing the invest- ment being carried out. Yes, the work can create an inconvenience, but we are looking to minimise it. Is it fair for someone who has a swimming pool and leaves their AC on during the whole day, to enjoy the same subsidies as someone who lives from month to month? We are not giving them the same subsidies. Our billing system is staggered according to how much you waste. Malta also faces realities which landlocked countries don't. When you are an island state, costs easily reflect themselves in infla- tionary pressures. The prices are not as high as they were before, like when it was 80c per unit for ex- ample, but they are still high. The reason we wanted stable prices is because it helps stabilise the coun- try. When energy bills rose in 2010, it resulted in a stagnated economy and unemployment. The repercus- sions are big. Despite Labour's grandeur pledge, people have voiced their criticism at the slow progress with which the projects entrusted to Pro- ject Green are being carried out. What are your views on this? At the start you always have a peri- od of setting up and establishing the projects. Once you get the necessary permits, then the work picks up the pace... You have these preparatory works which are carried out before the project kicks off, but while this preparatory work is ongoing, we wanted to make sure we have these smaller projects so that people can see the projects are carried out around them. The Pollinator Garden in San Ġwann for example, it is not that big – just 1,000 sq.m, but it is an innovative idea and approach. Do you agree with Jo- seph Muscat contesting the European Parliament elections? Does it not undermine Robert Abela's standing within the party? I am reading what is being said. I heard what Joseph Muscat said, what the Prime Minister said, and I agree. I am convinced about one thing – both Muscat and Abela will take a decision that is in the best in- terest for the party and the country. There will be a vacant spot for the party deputy lead- ership later this year. Will you be contesting? We have a deputy leader and deputy prime minister who is still carrying out very good work. As a govern- ment minister I am 200% focused on the reforms we have promised as a government, and to deliver what we promised in the electoral manifesto. That is what the country and the La- bour Party need from their ministers. It's not a no… There is Chris Fearne, who is carry- ing out very good work. When the time comes, we will see... PHOTOS: JAMES BIANCHI / MALTA TODAY