Tourism: the industry does not care

Notwithstanding the increasing numbers of incoming tourists, the tourism industry is currently in a self-destructive mode.  After the carrying capacity study published by the Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association (MHRA) in July 2022, one would have expected the Ministry of Tourism or the Malta Tourism Authority (MTA) to take the lead in initiating a public debate on the matter.

The Deloitte report published by the MHRA, in July 2022, entitled Carrying Capacity Study for Tourism in the Maltese Islands has pointed out that the total of existing and planned hotel accommodation would require approximately 5 million tourists per annum to ensure an 80 percent occupancy. This does not take into consideration non-hotel accommodation. If non-hotel accommodation is also taken into account, the problem would be much worse.

This is anything but sustainable. Yet, except for the public discussion on the skills required by foreign workers in the industry, no one is (apparently) bothered by the considerable negative impacts of tourism: impacts on both tourism itself as well as on the residential community. No wonder that studies have identified a developing tourismophobia. Tourismophobia has been described by Catalan anthropologist Manoel Delgado as a mixture of repudiation, mistrust, and contempt for tourists.

The total number of inbound tourists to Malta in 2023 was around 3 million. This accounted for 20.2 million bed nights and an estimated expenditure of €2.7 billion. The employment that this generates is considered by many as a positive contribution to the industry, and sustaining around 50,000 jobs.

The Deloitte report published by MHRA in 2022, however, explains that in 2009, 82 percent of those employed in the tourism sector were Maltese. By 2019 this statistic had decreased to 40.6 percent. The Deloitte report does not explain the reasons behind this trend. It only emphasises that this trend is not unique to the Maltese islands.

However, the Deloitte report goes on to argue that the reliance of the tourism industry on an ever-increasing cosmopolitan labour force is an important contributor to an increasing lack of authenticity of the touristic product.  Who cares?

The ever-increasing volume of incoming tourists has an impact on both the tourist experience as well as on the quality of life of the residential community.

Many years ago a substantial portion of the residential community of Paceville was squeezed out of the locality as a direct result of the impacts of the tourist industry. It seems that no lessons were learned from this experience as various residential communities around the islands are still continuously at the receiving end. No one cares.

Tables and chairs have taken over substantial public areas around our residences, in many instances obstructing access to our homes. Consider, for example, The Strand from Gżira to Sliema: from Manoel Island right to The Ferries, and beyond. Has anyone ever considered the impact of the continuous stretch of chairs and tables on the residential community along the same stretch of road?

This experience is not limited to Sliema but also exists in Marsaskala, St Paul’s Bay, St Julians, and many other areas, including Valletta. Who cares?

The tourism industry is aware of all this. Yet the issues raised are not being addressed. The situation gets worse by the minute.

The residential communities in various localities are voicing their concerns. One of the latest to so do was the Valletta residential community.

The local council elections next June are an opportunity to elect local councilors who are sensitized to the concerns of the residents. We need Local Councils that can take up the fight directly at an institutional level as it is only in this manner that the real issues faced by our communities can be addressed.

We have a tourism industry that only cares about what goes into its bank account: nothing else is of significance. We can compensate for this by having local councils that not only care about our communities but most importantly act swiftly to right the accumulated wrongs.

published in The Malta Independent on Sunday: 21 April 2024

Reklam b’xejn?

Dan ir-reklam b’xejn deher fit-Times ta’ Londra illum.

B’dawn l-aħbarijiet xi bżonn hemm ta’ reklami mill-Awtorità tat-Turiżmu (MTA)?

L-irresponsabbiltà tal-Bord tal-Awtorità tal-Ippjanar ser tibqa’ tagħmel il-ħsara. Din id-darba kien jmiss lit-tempji tal-Ġgantija.

Anzi donnu qed iżżid id-doża.

Issa nistennew x’passi ser tieħu l-UNESCO.

Planning for climate change

The Joint Research Centre (JRC) of the European Commission has recently published a study entitled “Regional Impact of Climate Change on European tourism demand”. It aims to provide evidence-based scientific support to the EU policymaking process.

This JRC technical study examines the potential impact of climate change on tourism demand within the context of the debate shaping the 2030 EU Agenda for Tourism. The development of touristic destinations must essentially consider the impact of climate change.

This is a debate which is unfortunately absent locally. In Malta, both the tourism industry as well as the Malta Tourism Authority (MTA) are only interested in numbers, more than anything else.  This is evidenced by the Deloitte report on the industry’s capacity, published some months ago. It is pertinent to remember that the Deloitte report points out that a projected supply of touristic accommodation, close to 5 million tourists annually would be required to ensure the sector’s long-term profitability (at an average 80 per cent occupancy throughout the year).  Tourism planning at its worst possible. Pure madness!

Land use planning concessions, left right and centre, have been dished out to attain this massive over-development. The tourism industry with government’s complicity has planned for this massive over-capacity, in the process ignoring the reality on the ground.

The JRC study emphasises that “the last three decades of research have failed to prepare the (tourism) sector for the net-zero transition and the climate disruption that will transform tourism in the 2050-time horizon.”

The study finds a clear north-south pattern in tourism demand changes: “northern regions benefitting from climate change and southern regions facing significant reductions in tourism demand.”

Southern coastal regions are projected to lose a significant amount of summer tourists, around 10 per cent, in the warmer climate scenarios considered by the study. This compares to a projected significant increase of approximately 5 per cent in the Northern European coastal regions.

The projected shift in tourism is not only regional: it would also be seasonal.

Such studies are indicative. However, they should be taken note of and have a bearing on the essential planning which is required if we are to be as prepared as can be for the climate changes which are on our doorstep. Matters may possibly even turn out to be far worse than what is being projected! Hence the need for more focused studies on what lies in store.

Both the industry and the Tourism Ministry are oblivious to all this. They are still euphoric on the “post-Covid record number of tourists”, ignoring the changes on the horizon.

Climate change is impacting everything, not just tourism. It is already impacting water resources, the infrastructure, coastal protection, energy, biodiversity, agriculture as well as health.

Only recently we read in the media that at a recent informal meeting of EU Health Ministers held at the Canary Islands, Health Minister Chris Fearne raised the impact of climate change on health. He was reported as having emphasised the need to consider, in depth, the impacts which climate change is having on our health systems. Fearne is obviously planning ahead, not just on the impacts of the climate on health planning. His radar is most obviously focused on the composition of the EU Commission which this time next year will be in the process of being screened by the EU Parliament and its various committees.

Whatever the motivation on the importance of climate change, it is imperative that we plan ahead, definitely beyond the immediate future.

Unfortunately, the Ministry responsible for climate change hasn’t got an inkling of all this. It should be leading the way in discussing and planning how best to adapt to climate change and to mitigate its impacts. Instead, it is focused on the unofficial electoral campaign for the EU Parliament.

Adapting to climate change will require substantial behavioural change which successive governments have been reluctant to encourage through adequate policy initiatives. Climate change will not go away. We can only adapt to the change and seek to implement the required mitigation measures. Without behavioural change we are doomed.

It is about time that we act, before it is too late.

published in The Malta Independent on Sunday: 3 September 2023

The Climate Emergency: beyond the MCESD circus

On the 22 October 2019 Parliament unanimously accepted what has been obvious to most of us for quite some time: we are in the midst of a climate emergency.

Taking stock of the situation, now, four years down the line, reveals that not much has been done to translate the 2019 Parliamentary consensus into tangible action. It was only as a result of the current dramatic failure of the power distribution network that Robert Abela’s government has woken up from its climatic slumber. With a straight face he stated that the failure of the distribution network is a result of a worsening climate change!

Undoubtedly climate change was one of the contributors to the power distribution network’s failure. Climate change is however not the only culprit. Gross incompetence and lack of long-term planning are the major contributors to the current state of affairs. After ten years in office his party must shoulder the blame.

ADPD-The Green Party has written to the Auditor General specifically to investigate Enemalta’s long-term plans (or the lack of them) and to examine the investments made into the energy distribution network over the last ten years. Those responsible have to be held accountable.

Robert Abela’s MCESD circus, last week, was another exercise in greenwashing. His government had various opportunities since 2019 in order to lay the foundations for a realistic forward looking plan addressing climate change but it has completely opted to turn a Nelson eye.

During July, for example, at the EU Environment Council of Ministers, Malta was one of the countries voting in favour of the EU Commission proposal to restore nature as part of the Green Deal package. A proposal that was substantially watered down from the original Timmermans proposal. If Robert Abela’s government really believes in what he has supported at an EU level he ought to start reflecting this in the decisions he takes at a local level.

How is it possible to be credible in your commitment to restore the depleted natural capital across the EU when you have not been capable of protecting the uptake of agricultural land for development at the peripheries of our towns and villages as a result of the rationalisation exercise? (Robert Abela, you can ask your own Żurrieq constituents on the rape of in-Nigret, currently in hand.)

Or how can you be taken seriously that you have undertaken to protect the urban canopy in the existing green spaces (including large private gardens) in our towns and villages when many of these have been or are still being developed on the altar of greed? Investing €700 million in green open spaces is not enough: it does not even compensate for the damage inflicted by the rationalisation exercise on our countryside. Remember we are speaking of two million square metres.

We need a holistic climate policy that comes to grips with the reality that we are facing year in year out. The heat-wave we have just experienced has the potential of shifting the tourist market northwards during the summer months, away from the Mediterranean shores. We are witnessing the first clear indicators of the tropicalisation of the Mediterranean climate, yet the tourism industry is ecstatic at the current tourism numbers which are fast approaching the 2019 record year.

The Malta International Airport (MIA), Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association (MHRA) and the Malta Tourism Authority (MTA) need to wake up and smell the coffee.  Climate change needs to be anchored in tourism policy before it is too late.

The Maltese islands will be severely impacted by the next stages of climate change: the rise in sea level. The coastal areas will be hard hit. Depending on the extent of the sea level rise, they will be wiped out or substantially reduced. This will impact coastal communities as well as all the coastal infrastructure, which includes practically all our tourism facilities. Yet the tourism industry is silent, busy counting today’s euros.

Beyond last week’s MCESD circus the government has a duty to act and make up for lost time. It is a duty towards future generations. Unfortunately, future generations have been consistently written off as they have no vote. Gro Harlem Bundtland had warned us in her seminal 1987 UN Report Our Common Future: “We act as we do because we can get away with it: future generations do not vote; they have no political or financial power; they cannot challenge our decisions.”

Once upon a time we also had a Guardian for Future Generations. His silence on climate change is deafening.

published in The Malta Independent on Sunday: 6 August 2023

Tourism: the tough years ahead

Karl Lauterbach, the German Health Minister, in the past days chose to spend his summer holidays in Italy. Like all of us, he had to deal with the extraordinary temperatures of the past days. On the 13 July, while travelling from Bologna to Tuscany he commented on social media that “If things continue like this, these holiday destinations will have no long-term future. Climate change is destroying southern Europe. An era is drawing to a close”.

In the past months, in Malta, both government and the tourism industry have spoken in detail on the future of the industry. Both are looking ecstatically at the increase in tourism arrival numbers: definitely a case of misplaced enthusiasm. In reality they should be carefully examining the urgent need for a radical restructuring of the tourism industry, if it is to have any chance of survival at all.

It would be pertinent to look again at last year’s Deloitte report on the carrying capacity for tourism in the Maltese Islands, commissioned by the Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association (MHRA), but financed primarily by EU funds.

The Deloitte report, entitled Carrying Capacity Study for Tourism in the Maltese Islands was mostly quoted in the national debate in relation to its quantification of the oversupply of tourist beds.  The report emphasises that over the next five years there is a significant risk of a substantial over-supply in the expected touristic accommodation growth. As a result of the projected supply of touristic accommodation, close to 5 million tourists per annum would be required (at an average 80 per cent occupancy throughout the year) in order to ensure the sector’s long-term profitability. Such an influx of tourists, definitely, cannot be handled by the country. It would definitely make the current infrastructural mess even worse than it currently is.

There is however another significant issue which the Deloitte report, and the industry, ignore completely. What is the impact of climate change on the tourism attracted to the Maltese islands? The current heat-wave is an indicator of what lies in wait for us in the near future.

The infrastructural mess in energy generation and its distribution, is not doing tourism any favours! This is not only evident in the Maltese islands. It is also clearly a common problem in a number of other competitor Mediterranean countries.

The tropicalization of the climate in the Mediterranean is a matter which undoubtedly should have a considerable bearing in any strategic debate on the future of tourism in the Maltese islands. This crucial point is however, regrettably, completely ignored not just by the industry and its advisors but also by myopic policy planners at the Malta Tourism Authority (MTA) and the supervising Ministry.

The industry continuously prefers to bury its head in the sand, ostrich-like. In this context the carrying-capacity of the tourism industry is completely irrelevant, even in the short term. It is completely overshadowed by climate change: that is the primary future driver of tourism. Changes are clearly in the air, yet both the industry and the policy makers, ostrich-like, are still focused on making tourism great again!

The summer months in the Maltese islands are becoming too hot for tourism. Does this mean that tourism has no future or does it signify that it will eventually be cut down to size and effectively shifted to the winter months?

With the summer months getting progressively hotter it is pretty obvious that the current heat wave is not an exception, it will shortly be the new normal!

There are already indications that the Mediterranean is possibly already facing a 10 percent drop in those planning to visit in the second half of 2023.

Unfortunately, government’s attitude towards tourism clearly indicates that it has no plans for the anticipated impacts on the tourism industry as a result of the tropicalization of the Mediterranean climate. This is the most obvious conclusion after “reading” what’s missing in the Deloitte report. The ostrich is apparently the new mascot of the Malta Tourism Authority.

published on The Malta Independent on Sunday: 30 July 2023

It-turiżmu u l-bidla fil-klima

In-natura ma tinvolvix ruħha f’negozjati dwar l-impatti tagħha. Fil-mument addattat tisplodi, bla ma tiddiskrimina: fejn laqat laqat. Dan jidher ċar b’mod regolari ma’ kull maltempata qalila jew kalamità naturali f’kull parti tad-dinja.

It-tibdil fil-klima hu bħall-bomba tal-ħin li tista’ tieħu minn minuta għall-oħra.  Qagħda li qed teħżien ma’ kull rapport xjentifiku li jkun ippubbblikat. F’Marzu ħareġ rapport ieħor tal-IPCC li għal darb’oħra wissa li ma baqax wisq ħin biex nieħdu passi. Is-sinjali huma ċari, għal min irid jarahom. Fil-prattika, iżda, dawn huma injorati, forsi sakemm joħroġ rapport ieħor inkella sakemm issir xi laqgħa oħra internazzjonali. Isiru ħafna wegħdiet li l-affarijiet ser jinbidlu, li l-imġieba ser taqleb għall-aħjar: imma wara ftit kważi kulħadd jinsihom. Dan hu ċiklu li jirrepeti ruħu kull tant żmien.

Ma hemmx għalfejn immorru lura ħafna fiż-żmien. Ħarsu biss lejn it-temp lokali tul ix-xahar ta’ Frar 2023. Il-maltempata Helios laqtet il-gżejjer Maltin nhar id-9 ta’ Frar 2023: tul 24 siegħa x-xita li niżlet qabżet id-doppju tal-medja għax-xahar ta’ Frar. Il-ħsara li saret ma kienitx żgħira.

Minkejja dan, f’Malta għad hawn min joħlom li aħna, għandna nkunu eżentati mill-azzjoni radikali meħtieġa biex tkun indirizzata l-bidla fil-klima. Il-Membru Parlamentari Ewropew Laburista Cyrus Engerer, per eżempju, il-ġimgħa l-oħra ġie rappurtat li kien irrabjat għall-Kummissjoni Ewropeja għax il-proposti tagħha dwar il-bidla fil-klima huma l-istess għal kulħadd (one size fits all). Qal li l-istati gżejjer għandhom ikunu eżentati mill-liġijiet dwar il-bidla fil-klima. Dak li qal Engerer kien b’referenza għad-Direttiva dwar it-Tassazzjoni fuq l-Enerġija li hi immirata biex jonqsu l-emmissjonijiet tal-karbonju partikolarment billi jkunu ndirizzati l-impatti ambjentali tal-industrija tal-avjazzjoni.

Ilkoll nafu li t-turiżmu minn u lejn Malta hu dipendenti fuq l-industrija tal-avjazzjoni. Imma flok ma fittixna, tul is-snin,  li nżommu lit-turiżmu taħt kontroll b’politika li tagħti kaz l-impatti tal-industrija fuq il-klima, il-boloh li qed imexxu l-Awtorità Maltija tat-Turiżmu qed jimmiraw li jilħqu l-mira ta’ 3 miljun turist fis-sena.

Hemm ukoll studju ikkummissjonata mill-Assoċjazzjoni Maltija tal-Lukandi (MHRA) liema studju jikkwantifika kemm hawn sodod għat-turisti, mhux biss dawk li jeżistu, imma ukoll dawk approvati mill-permessi li diġà ħargu. Dan ir-rapport (tourism carrying capacity report) jgħid li hawn biżżejjed sodod li biex nużawhom neħtieġu li jkollna viċin il-5 miljun turist fis-sena.

Il-politika Maltija tat-turiżmu tfasslet qiesu għada ma hu ser jasal qatt. Riżultat ta’ hekk impatti ambjentali negattivi jibqgħu jinġemgħu minn proġetti massiċċi diġa mfassla, bħal dak ta’ Villa Rosa, mifrux fuq madwar 48,000 metru kwadru tul il-kosta tal-Bajja ta’ San Ġorg.

Biex tkompli tgħaxxaqha l-istudju tal-impatti ambjentali għall-proġett ta’ Villa Rosa hu mibni madwar analiżi ekonomika li tikkonkludi li l-proġett hu wieħed ekonomikament vijabbli.

L-industrija tal-avjazzjoni ilha żmien mhux ħażin teħlisha u tevita li ġġorr il-konsegwenzi tal-impatti tagħha: ilha eżentata milli terfa’ l-piż tal-emissjonijiet tal-karbonju li tiġġenera.  Dan kollu, iżda, jidher li qed joqrob lejn it-tmiem għax anke l-industrija tal-avjazzjoni ser ikollha iddur dawra sewwa madwarha u tibda hi ukoll terfa’ r-responsabbiltà għall-impatti tagħha. Il-prinċipju li min iħammeġ irid iħallas għandu japplika għall-industrija tal-avjazzjoni u bħala konsegwenza għat-turiżmu ukoll.  Bħal kull settur ekonomiku, dan is-settur irid jagħti kaz u jibda jerfa’ l-piz tal-impatti ambjentali tiegħu stess.

Bla dubju mhux ser tkun faċli. Dan hu inevitabbli, anke minħabba li għal żmien twil ftit li xejn tajna kaz, anzi evitajna kemm stajna din ir-realtà.

Xi snin ilu, f’Ottubru 2019, il-Parlament Malti approva mozzjoni dwar l-emerġenza klimatika. Imma sfortunatament, minkejja li din il-mozzjoni kienet approvata unanimament, xorta mhiex riflessa fil-politika tal-Gvern.

Hu fl-interess ta’ Malta li l-impatti ambjentali tat-turiżmu, b’mod partikolari t-turiżmu tal-massa, jkunu indirizzati bis-serjetà, qabel ma jkun tard wisq. L-industrija tal-avjazzjoni teħtieġ li tkun issensitizzata b’miżuri ekonomiċi bħat-taxxi ambjentali biex tibda tirriforma ruħha.  Irridu nżommu quddiem għajnejna, li l-gżejjer Maltin, bħall-gżejjer kollha,  jkunu minn tal-ewwel li jintlaqtu meta jseħħu uħud mill-agħar konsegwenzi tal-bidla fil-klima: l-għoli fil-livell tal-baħar.

It-turiżmu m’għandux ċans li jeħlisha. In-natura mhux ser tiġiha ħniena miċ-ċirkustanzi partikolari tagħna. Tiġi taqa’ u tqum mill-konsegwenzi ekonomiċi. Tibqa’ għaddejja minn fuqna u tkaxkar kollox, kif tagħmel kullimkien!

ippubblikat fuq Illum : 9 t’April 2023

Tourism and climate change

Nature does not negotiate as to its impacts. At the appropriate natural time, pun intended, it unleashes its fury on all, without discrimination. This is illustrated on a regular basis with every major storm or natural calamity around the globe.

Climate change is like a ticking time bomb. It gets worse with every scientific report published. In March, yet another IPCC report sounded the warning that we are living on borrowed time. The signs are there staring us in the face. In practice they are ignored until another report is published and maybe another Climate Summit is held. Many promises relative to behavioural change are made, most being ignored. This cycle has been repeated every so often.

We need not go back many years. Just consider the local weather during the month of February 2023. The storm Helios hit the Maltese islands on 9 February 2023: in just 24 hours the recorded precipitation was more than double the monthly average for the month of February. The damage caused was considerable.

Yet some still dream that we, in Malta, should be exempted from the far-reaching radical action needed to tackle climate change. Labour MEP Cyrus Engerer, for example, was reported last week as feeling angered at the EU Commission “one size fits all” approach on climate action. He stated that island states should be exempted from climate change legislation. Engerer’s outburst was a reference to the Energy Taxation Directive which aims at reducing carbon emissions in particular through addressing the environmental impacts of aviation.

We all know that tourism to and from Malta is dependent on the aviation industry. Yet, instead of seeking ways to re-dimension it, thereby factoring-in climate change impacts into tourism policy, the nitwits at the Malta Tourism Authority have currently embarked on achieving targets to increase tourism to Malta to the 3 million mark.

Furthermore, a study on Malta’s tourism carrying capacity commissioned by the MHRA and carried out by Deloitte some months ago had identified that we would need close to 5 million tourists per year to make adequate use of the tourism beds available, both those existent as well as those in the pipeline, already approved for development!

Malta’s tourism policy targets have been planned as if there is no tomorrow. This keeps piling up the negative environmental impacts from large scale development projects in the pipeline, such as the Villa Rosa project spread over close to 48,000 square metres along the St George’s Bay coast.

To add insult to injury the Environmental Impact Assessment for the Villa Rosa project is buttressed by an economic analysis which endorses its economic viability.

Aviation has been a free rider for quite some time, being exempted from shouldering the impacts of the carbon emissions which it generates. The holiday will soon be over and as a direct result the aviation industry must take stock of the situation and shoulder the responsibility for its impacts. The polluter pays principle applies to the aviation industry and as a result to the tourism industry too. Like all other economic sectors, it must factor in its costings the environmental impacts which it generates: in technical jargon internalisation of environmental costs.

It will undoubtedly be painful. This is inevitable as it has been deliberately avoided for so long.

Some years back, in October 2019, Parliament in Malta approved a motion on the climate emergency. Unfortunately, the unanimously approved motion is not reflected in government policy since.

It is in Malta’s interest that the environmental impacts of tourism, particularly mass tourism, are contained before it is too late. The aviation industry must be prodded through economic means, such as environmental taxation, to restructure itself. Let us all remember that like all islands, the Maltese islands, will be among the first to suffer some of the worst repercussions of climate change: the increase in sea level.

Tourism will not be spared. Nature and natural forces will not consider our special situation or our economic considerations: it will roll over us as it did elsewhere!

published in The Malta Independent on Sunday: 9 April 2023

Ir-rwol tal-Membri tal-Parlament

Iktar kmieni din il-ġimgħa, tlabt lill- Awditur Ġenerali biex jinvestiga l-ingaġġ tal-Onorevoli Rosianne Cutajar bħala konsulent taċ-Chief Executive Officer tal-Istitut għall-Istudji Turistiċi (ITS).

Meta wieħed jaqra l-kuntratt tax-xogħol ta’ Cutajar mal-ITS, li kien ippubblikat minn Shift News bħala riżultat tal-applikazzjoni tal-liġi għal jedd għall-aċċess għall-informazzjoni, wieħed jista’ malajr jikkonkludi li r-responsabbiltà tal-konsulenza ta’ Cutajar kien fil-qasam tal-amministrazzjoni finanzjarja tal-ITS.

Cutajar kienet mistennija li taħdem mill-viċin mas-CEO u mad-Diretturi tal-Istitut għall-Istudji Turistiċi fit-tħejjija tal-budget annwali, tas-sorveljanza u kontroll tal-kwalità, biex ikunu stabiliti miri, biex tassisti fit-teħid tad-deċiżjonijiet meħtieġa fit-tmexxija ta’ kuljum, fl-analiżi ta’ rapporti kemm dawk ta’ natura finanzjarja kif ukoll ta’ dawk li mhux, kif ukoll li tidentifika soluzzjonijiet u titjib fl-operat kif meħtieġ.

Meta hu fatt magħruf li Cutajar hi mħarrġa bħala għalliema tal-lingwa Taljana fil-livell sekondarju, hu raġjonevoli li tassumi li dan hu kuntratt biex inħoloq impieg fantażma, imħallas minn fondi pubbliċi.

Fid-dawl ta’ dan jiena tlabt lill-Awditur Ġenerali biex jinvestiga lill-ITS u lit-tmexxija tiegħu għax fl-aħħar mill-aħħar ir-responsabbiltà għal dan kollu hu tas-CEO tal-ITS. Huwa jrid jispjega dak li għamel lit-tim investigattiv tal-awditur ġenerali biex ikun stabilit eżattament x’ġara.

Il-ħolqien ta’ impiegi fantażma fis-settur pubbliku jsir biex jibbenefika lill-bażużli u jħallashom ta’ ħidmiethom f’oqsma oħra. L-impieg fantażma ta’ Rosianne Cutajar’s mhux l-unika wieħed li nafu bih. Tiftakru lil Melvin Theuma, dak li għamilha ta’ sensar biex tinqatel Daphne Caruana Galiza? Anke lilu kienu taw impieg fantażma fis-settur pubbliku, ringrazzjament għal dak li kien qiegħed iwettaq!  Wieħed jistaqsi il-għala, Rosianne Cutajar, li jiena u qed nikteb għadha Membru Parlamentari, għaliex mhiex iffukata fuq xogħolha bħala membru tal-parlament? Jidher li għandha ħafna ħin li ma tafx x’ser tagħmel bih biex tista’ tiddedika ta’ l-inqas 24 siegħa kull ġimgħa għal xogħol ta’ konsulenza lill-ITS, b’żied mal-ħin meħtieġ “għar-responsabbiltajiet Parlamentari” tagħha, u ta’ hekk titħallas €27,000 fis-sena.

Il-problema hi ferm ikbar minn hekk għax hu mistenni li bħala parti mir-responsabbiltajiet  tagħha ta’ membru parlamentari tissorvelja l-istess ITS u tara li l-Ministru tat-Turiżmu jerfa’ ir-responsabbiltà politika għall-operat ta’ dan l-istitut. Imma kif tista’ tagħmel dan jekk għandha kuntratt ta’ konsulenza li bih hi involuta fit-tmexxija tal-istess istitut? Safejn naf jien, qatt ma irtirat minn dibattitu parlamentari dwar it-turiżmu minħabba xi konflitt ta’ interess!

Il-problema mhiex ristretta għall-konsulenza ta’ Cutajar. B’mod partikolari sa mill-2013, dan seħħ fil-grupp parlamentari Laburista in vista anke ta’ emendi għal diversi liġijiet li ippermettew li Membri Parlamentari jinħatru f’karigi diversi. Kellna, per eżempju, lil Deo Debattista u lil Manwel Mallia li kienu nħatru Chairperson tal-Awtorità għall-Ħarsien tas-Saħħa fuq il-Post tax-Xogħol, inkella lil Konrad Mizzi li hekk kif tkeċċa minn Ministru tat-Turiżmu kien inħatar konsulent tal-Awtorità tat-Turiżmu fuq struzzjonijiet speċifiċi tal-Prim Ministru Joseph Muscat. Dan kien ġie stabilit anke bħala riżultat ta’ investigazzjoni li kienet saret mill-Kummissarju għall-Istandards fil-Ħajja Pubblika fuq talba tiegħi.

Kien hemm ukoll numru sostanzjali ta’ ħatriet ta’ Membri Parlamentari bħala konsulenti f’diversi rwoli. F’ħin minnhom, kif ġie emfasizzat mill-Kummissarju għall-Istandards fil-Ħajja Pubblika f’rapport tal-2019, tnejn minn kull tlett backbencher Parlamentari kellu jew kellha xi ħatra jew kuntratt mas-settur pubbliku.

Mhiex funzjoni ta’ membru Parlamentari li jagħti l-pariri lid-Dipartimenti tal-Gvern jew lil xi awtorità pubblika, anke meta jkun (jew tkun) kkwalifikat biex jagħmel dan.  Il-Membru Parlamentari qiegħed hemm biex jilleġisla, biex iħares il-fondi pubbliċi kif ukoll biex jassigura li l-Gvern tal-ġurnata jagħti kont ta’ egħmilu kontinwament. Dan hu obbligu ta’ kull wieħed u waħda mill-Membri Parlamentari.

Tul is-snin il-parlament wera li kien inkapaċi li jagħmel dmiru u riżultat ta’ hekk, il-Kabinett, li qiegħed jikber kontinwament b’mod esaġerat,  ħassu liberu li jagħmel li jrid, għax jaf li effettivament ħadd ma kien qed jitolbu kont ta’ egħmilu.

Il-Membri Parlamentari tagħna huma part-timers. L-impieg ewlieni tagħhom jeħdilhom ħinhom u l-enerġija tagħhom. Riżultat ta’ hekk nistgħu ta’ kuljum naraw parlament ineffettiv b’membri parlamentari bħal Rosianne Cutajar ifittxu impiegi fantażma, u dan sakemm ma tkunx qed tagħmilha ta’ sensara tassisti fil-bejgħ tal-propjetà u ddaħħal xi kummissjoni!

Wasal iż-żmien li l-Membri Parlamentari jagħmlu xogħol tal-parlament biss u xejn iktar.

Ippubblikat fuq Illum : 2 t’April 2023

The role of Members of Parliament

Earlier this week I requested the Auditor General to investigate the appointment of the Honourable Rosianne Cutajar as a consultant to the Chief Executive Office of the Institute for Tourism Studies (ITS).

Reading through Cutajar’s contract of employment with ITS, made public by Shift News as a result of a freedom of information application, one clearly concludes that the main areas of responsibility of consultant Cutajar were in the areas of the financial management of ITS.

She was expected to work closely with the CEO and the Institute Directors in order to prepare annual budgets, oversea quality control, establish goals, assist in day-to-day decisions, review financial and non-financial reports to devise solutions and improvements……………

Knowing that consultant Cutajar is a trained teacher of the Italian language at secondary school level it is very reasonable to assume that this contract created a phantom job, paid for from public monies.

In view of this logical conclusion I requested the Auditor General to investigate the  ITS and its management as at the end of the day it is the ITS CEO who is responsible for this state of affairs. He should answer for his actions and explain matters to the auditor general’s investigation team.

The creation of phantom jobs at the public sector is done to benefit blue-eyed boys and girls as payment for services rendered elsewhere. Rosianna Cutajar’s phantom job is not the only one we know of. Do you remember Melvin Theuma, the guy who brokered the murderof Daphne Caruana Galizia? He too was given a phantom job in the public sector, thanking him for services rendered.

Why isn’t Rosianne Cutajar (at the point of writing still a Member of Parliament) focused on her duties as a Member of Parliament? She seems to have so much time on her hands that, in addition to her “Parliamentary duties” she can dedicate a minimum of 24 hours every week to her ITS consultancy work, against payment of €27,000 per annum.

The problem is even bigger than that, as she is expected, as part of her parliamentary duties, to monitor the ITS and to hold the Hon Minister of Tourism accountable for their performance.  How can she do this when she is involved in all this as a result of her consultancy? I am not aware that she ever withdrew from a parliamentary debate on tourism on the grounds of conflict of interest!

This problem is not restricted to consultant Cutajar. It has in fact, particularly since 2013, been generally applicable to the Labour party parliamentary group in view of the amendments to various laws which permitted the appointment of sitting MPs to various posts. We have had Deo Debattista and Manwel Mallia who were appointed as Chairpersons of the Health and Safety Authority or Konrad Mizzi who on being fired as Minister for Tourism was appointed as consultant to the Tourism Authority on the express instructions of then Premier Joseph Muscat as attested to by the investigation concluded at my request by the Commissioner for Standards in Public Life.

In addition, there have been a substantial number of other appointments of MPs as advisors in various roles. At a point in time, as emphasised by the then Commissioner for Standards in Public Life in a 2019 report, two-thirds of all backbench MPs held appointments in or contracts with the public sector.

It is not the role or function of a sitting MP to advise a government department or a public authority, even if he or she is qualified to do so.  A Member of Parliament should sit in Parliament to legislate, to protect the public purse and to hold government to account continuously. This is the duty of each MP.

Over the years parliament has shown itself to be incapable of doing its duty and as a result has left the ever-growing Cabinet free to do what it likes, knowing that no one will effectively hold it to account.

Our Parliamentarians are part-timers. Their full-time employment takes up most of their time and energies. The result is what we can all see, day in day out: an ineffective parliament with Parliamentarians like Rosianne Cutajar seeking phantom jobs, when she is not brokering the sale of properties and pocketing the relative commissions!

Isn’t it about time that Members of Parliament are full-timers?

published in The Malta Independent on Sunday: 2 April 2023

Il-kosta (u madwarha) tagħna lkoll

Il-pubblikazzjoni riċenti tar-rapport dwar l-impatti ambjentali (EIA)  tal-proġett ta’   Villa Roża fil-Bajja ta San Ġorġ San Ġiljan ser terġa’ tiftaħ beraħ id-dibattitu dwar il-proġett tal-grupp dB f’Pembroke kif ukoll dwar il-Masterplan ta’ Paceville li kien abbandunat madwar sitt snin ilu, riżultat ta’ dibattitu intensiv li fih kienet involuta attivament is-soċjetà ċivili.

Għal darb’oħra il-proposta ċentrali ta’ żvilupp hi l-kummerċjalizzazzjoni intensiva tal-kosta kif ukoll madwarha, u dan apparti l-impatti konsiderevoli fuq iz-zona kollha.

Il-proposta tikkonċerna medda kbira ta’ 47,572 metri kwadri bi żvilupp propost li jikkonċerna t-turiżmu, id-divertiment flimkien ma’ użu kummerċjali, primarjament  uffiċini. Dan hu propost li jsir f’żona li diġa hi iffullata, prattikament is-sena kollha.

Ir-rapport dwar l-impatti ambjentali fih numru ta’ studji dwar diversi aspetti ta’ relevanza għall-proġett propost. Wieħed minn dawn hu analiżi ekonomika mħejji minn E-Cubed Consultants. Kif mistenni, dan l-istudju jitkellem f’termini pożittivi ħafna tal-proġett. Studji ta’ din ix-xorta li kapaċi jiġġustifikaw kollox, issa drajnihom!  Dan l-istudju jinjora kompletament  l-impatti li l-proġett ta’ Villa Roża ser ikollu fuq l-infrastruttura pubblika. Dawn l-impatti huma spiża li jridu jagħmlu tajjeb għalihom il-fondi pubbliċi. L-impatti tal-proġett innifsu huma sostanzjali. Imma meta tarahom b’mod kumulattiv ma’ dawk iġġenerati minn proġetti oħra kbar ippjanati għaż-żona huma enormi.

Dan hu kaz ieħor fejn il-profitti jmorru fil-but tas-settur privat imma hu mistenni li l-kaxxa ta’ Malta terfa’ l-ispejjes għall-iżvilupp meħtieġ tal-infrastruttura biex huma jkunu jistgħu jinqdew. Dwar dan, l-istudju ta’ E-Cubed hu sieket.

Dan x’mudell hu? Kif ġie indikat b’mod ċar minn studju ta’ Deloitte dwar it-turiżmu f’Malta, studju li kien ikkummissjonat mill-Assoċjazzjoni tal-Lukandi (MHRA), ser inkunu neħtieġu 4.7 miljun turist fis-sena biex jintużaw is-sodod li diġa hawn inkella li huma ippjanati! Dan ġenn, għax il-pajjiż ma jiflaħx għall-piż iġġenerat fuq l-infrastruttura kemm-il darba in-numru ta’ turisti li jżuruna jirdoppja.

Anke l-Gvern ħabbar mira ta’ tlett miljun turist, mira li hi għolja ħafna. Kieku l-Awtorità tat-Turiżmu għandha nitfa serjetà fit-tmexxija tagħha kienet tieħu passi biex trażżan l-iżvilupp sfrenat li għaddej fl-industrija u li fl-aħħar ħsara biss jagħmel. Ir-rebgħa imma m’għandiex limitu u qed twassal għal ħsara kbira għall-pajjiż.

Il-kummerċjalizzazzjoni tal-kosta u taz-zona madwarha teħtieġ li tieqaf qabel li din tibla l-ftit spazji miftuħa li għad baqa’ madwar l-istess kosta.

Permezz ta’ emendi li kienu saru għall-Kodiċi Ċivili f’dik li hi magħrufa bħala l-liġi tad-dimanju pubbliku l-Parlament kien approva leġislazzjoni biex jipproteġi l-kosta u bħala riżultat ta’ hekk iżid l-aċċess għall-pubbliku. Dan kien kollu daħq fil-wiċċ għax fil-prattika ma sar xejn. Kieku din il-leġislazzjoni qed taħdem, proġetti bħal dan ta’ Villa Roża ma jsirux għax dawn imorru kontra kemm il-kelma kif ukoll l-ispirtu tal-liġi.

Għaddej sforz kontinwu biex il-kosta tkun ikkumerċjalizzata.  Xi żmien ilu kellna l-proposta għall-marina ta’ Marsaskala. Kellna ukoll il-proposti dwar Manoel Island, dwar il-Bajja tal-Balluta, il-Waterfront tal-Birgu (inkluż il-marina) u l-marina għall-jottijiet fil-Kalkara u dan flimkien ukoll mal-Waterfront tal-Belt Valletta.

Ma dan wieħed irid iżid il-kummerċjalizzazzjoni sfrenata li għaddejja tal-ispazji pubbliċi mal-kosta, inkluż il-bankini.

L-art pubblika qed tkun kontinwament ittrasformata fi profitti għas-settur privat, ħafna drabi għal ftit magħżulin. Fi prattikament il-każi kollha, ħadd ma jagħti kaz tal-kwalità tal-ħajja tar-residenti. Dawn qed ikun kompletament injorati. Xi drabi r-residenti saħansitra jinbeżqu l-barra miz-zoni residenzjali.

Issa għaddew madwar erba’ snin minn meta l-Parlament approva l-leġislazzjioni biex iħares il-kosta. Biex din il-liġi tkun tista’ titwettaq  l-għaqdiet ambjentali ppreżentaw dokumentazzjoni dwar iktar minn għoxrin sit mal-kosta li jimmeritaw li jkunu mħarsa. Ninsab infurmat li dawn l-għaqdiet ambjentali ippreżentaw ukoll riċerka estensiva dwar min jippossjedi din l-art. Hi ta’ sfortuna li t-tkaxkir tas-saqajn tal-Awtorità tal-Artijiet u tal-Awtorità tal-Ippjanar qed iżżomm u tostakola l-ħidma meħtieġa biex din il-liġi li tipproteġi l-kosta titwettaq. Dan qed isir ukoll fejn ma hemm l-ebda dubju li l-art  hi propjetà pubblika.

Għalfejn isiru dawn il-liġijiet jekk ma hemm l-ebda intenzjoni biex dawn ikunu implimentati?

Jeħtieġ li niċċaqalqu jekk irridu nkunu f’posizzjoni li nħarsu dak li fadal mill-kosta u z-zoni ta’ madwarha, u dan qabel ma jkun tard wisq. Sfortunatament ma hemmx rieda politika dwar dan. Il-Gvern u l-awtoritajiet tiegħu iqiesu l-kosta u z-zona kostali bħala magna biex tagħmel il-flus. Din hi l-viżjoni li qed isegwu fi sħubija kontinwa mal-forzi spekulattivi.

ippubblikat fuq Illum: 26 ta’Marzu 2023