The right to know and the duty to remember

“Those who cannot remember the past are doomed to repeat it.” Attributed to Spanish-American philosopher Jorge Santayana, these words signify not only the duty to remember, but more, the right to know. 

We remember that which we know. How can we remember that which we do not know: that which has been hidden from our view? 

Unfortunately, our society, most conveniently, is, at times, more interested in promoting the right to forget, or better still, the right to be forgotten! Forgetting and consequently ignoring the past always has disastrous consequences.

Transparency is a basic value in any democracy worthy of its name. Without transparency there is no possibility of having any form of accountability. Hiding information, ensuring that it is not accessible, is a common stratagem used by those who want to avoid accountability. Data protection is unfortunately continuously being used and abused in order to avoid accountability.

Data protection rights are unfortunately continuously being abused, as a result, at times, shielding criminal activity. Though well intentioned, the recent decision of the Data Protection Commissioner on the publication of online chats between Yorgen Fenech and Rosianne Cutajar is part of this (unintended) fallout of privacy rights. Though in fairness it has to be stated that it is the publication of the full chats which has irked the Data Protection Commissioner and not the information contained therein.

Reading through the Yorgen/Rosienne chats decision of the Data Protection Commissioner reveals the tightrope negotiated by the Commissioner to try and protect both privacy as well as the right to be informed. It is appreciated that it is always difficult to draw a line as to where privacy ends and public interest reigns.

But then having the full chats published instead of a synthesis, as indirectly suggested by the Commissioner, served the purpose of not quoting out of context. The full context of the chats is essential as this clearly shows the toxic development of a mix of the power of money, sex, and political power. Through what was published it is clear how money and expensive gifts was the price through which a young politician was purchased. This is definitely in the public interest to know.

The right to know is not the satisfaction of a curiosity thirst. In any democracy, the free flow of information is basic and essential. Withholding information or obstruction of access to it should only be an exceptional occurrence.

Unfortunately, rather than being exceptional, the withholding of information or access to it, is fast becoming a normality.

Our Courts are resorting too often to withholding the publication of sensitive information. The court case of the NGO Repubblika challenging the Attorney General’s decision not to prosecute top Pilatus Bank officials will no longer be heard behind closed doors as the original decision has now been reversed. This was another instance where our right to know was being stifled by those same authorities entrusted to defend us! Fortunately, the doors are now open. We have the right to know whether it is correct to state that the Attorney General acted abusively in defending criminality instead of prosecuting it! Has the criminal world captured the state institutions? This is what is at stake in this case! We have the right to know.

The reluctance of government to adhere to Freedom of Information Tribunal decisions is another disturbing matter.  For example, the Shift online news portal has won 40 cases at the Information Tribunal and 18 cases in Court relative to information requested on consultancy contracts and payments made to Saviour Balzan and his companies. Millions of euros of public funds have been used. Government is however refusing to be accountable for this use of these public funds.

What is the purpose of this secrecy? Has the state purchased the collaboration of a section of the media? This is what is at stake here. We have the right to know.

The right to know is basic in any democracy. Transparency and accountability work in tandem. Without transparency, accountability is hampered. A lack of transparency is an essential first step in order to ensure that accountability is avoided altogether.

Transparency is the indispensable foundation of good governance. In contrast, bad governance is generally wrapped in secrecy through the withholding of information which should be in the public domain. Without transparency, accountability is a dead letter: devoid of any meaning whatsoever. Accountability is about responsibility: it signifies the acknowledgement and assumption of responsibility for our actions. This cannot be achieved unless and until transparency is entrenched as an essential element of the operation of the state and public institutions.

Whenever government, public bodies or state institutions are secretive about information which they hold, and refuse or oppose without valid reason requests to release information they give ample proof of their governance credentials.

We deserve better than that.

published on The Malta Independent on Sunday: 28 January 2024

Rosianne Cutajar’s phantom job: the tip of the iceberg?

Last Tuesday, the Auditor General published a report entitled A Review of the employment agreement of the Consultant to the Chief Executive Officer, Institute of Tourism Studies. It addresses my request to the Auditor General, submitted on behalf of ADPD-The Green Party, to investigate the matter, which request was submitted eight months earlier.

There have been some interesting developments over the week, subsequent to the publication of the Auditor General’s report. Robert Abela, as Prime Minister, pointed fingers at Konrad Mizzi, the disgraced former Labour Minister. Konrad Mizzi, at this point is a very convenient scapegoat! Worse than that, however, Tourism Minister Clayton Bartolo has publicly defended ITS CEO Pierre Fenech. According to Clayton Bartolo, the ITS CEO was carrying out superior orders, that is orders of the former Tourism Minister Konrad Mizzi!

Minister Bartolo should know better than that. He knows that obeying superior orders is no defence in shielding yourself or others from the consequences of criminal action which the “fraudulent” and “irregular” job “in breach of all policies and procedures” at the Institute of Tourism Studies (ITS) amounts to, in the Auditor General’s own words.

Minister Bartolo’s defence of the ITS CEO Pierre Fenech may be indicative of a damage control exercise as, possibly, the Rosianne Cutajar case is just the tip of the iceberg. There could be much more rot at ITS which can only be uncovered as a result of an in-depth investigation of its operations. The Auditor General has shown the way. It is now up to the Commissioner of Police to dig deeper: in particular ITS Chief Pierre Fenech should be held accountable for his actions. At the end of the day, it was he that made the phantom job possible. He should now carry the can.

This is not the first case of its kind. Currently pending before our criminal Courts is another case on the creation of another phantom job: that of Melvin Theuma. This particular phantom job was created within the OPM laboratory. In fact, the Police have arraigned five persons to answer criminal charges on the creation of the Theuma phantom job. Melvin Theuma was paid with this job for services rendered in brokering the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia. Even Melvin Thuma cashed his pay cheque and never turned up for work.

Among those arraigned by the Police was the then CEO of the state-owned company Housing Maintenance and Embellishment Co Ltd, which company issued Melvin Theuma’s pay-cheques.

Likewise, Pierre Fenech, ITS Chief Executive, should answer for his criminal action in creating Rosianne Cutajar’s phantom job, as a result defrauding the public purse of the monies disbursed. The Minister’s testimonial in this case is intended as an indirect public pressure on the Police not to take any action.

In my request to the Auditor General on 28 March 2023 I had pointed out that the duties of the post of consultant to the ITS CEO were incompatible with the known competencies of the Hon Rosianne Cutajar! She was a qualified teacher of Italian in secondary schools, yet she was expected to advise on strategic management issues of the Institute of Tourism Studies as well as on issues of its financial administration.

The Auditor General’s report confirms the widely held view on the phantom nature of Cutajar’s employment at ITS. In addition, as a result of the meticulous investigation carried out by the National Audit Office team it has also been concluded that practically all the rules regulating public sector recruitment were ignored. Rules which were developed over the years to ensure good governance in the public sector, of which the ITS forms part, were thrown overboard.

The creation of phantom jobs in the public sector is clearly a misappropriation of public funds. Those responsible should be arraigned in our criminal courts. It is for this purpose that ADPD-The Green Party is insisting that the next step after the Auditor General’s report is criminal action against all those involved in this fraudulent action.

The Police should, however, in their investigation, look beyond Rosianne Cutajar’s phantom job. It should delf deeper into the ITS operations. This could well be the proverbial tip of the iceberg. No wonder Robert Abela and Clayton Bartolo are keen to pin this on Konrad Mizzi.

published Malta Independent on Sunday: 3 December 2023

Rainwater down the drain

(file photo by author dated 4 October 2018: overflowing sewer at Archbishop Gonzi Square Kalkara)

We have just experienced the driest October in living memory. This is not a new experience. In the past few years, the climate has changed substantially. We are experiencing longer periods of drought and then suddenly we are faced with a storm and floods which wreak havoc all along their path.

After heavy rainfall most of our streets are flooded. The question which seeks a reasonable answer is: why is it that when it rains, so much water is flowing in our streets?

It has been 143 years since our laws imposed the duty to have water cisterns in our buildings.

How come that our regulatory authorities keep ignoring this blatant waste of a natural resource, provided by nature free of charge?

These same authorities which continuously speak about sustainability have proven themselves incapable of managing a natural resource. As a result, a substantial part of it goes to waste into the sea, either directly or else as a result of being filtered through the urban wastewater treatment plants, also referred to as sewage purification plants. Then, after having disposed of the purified wastewater into the sea we recover the same water through desalination plants for our use. In the process we incur substantial costs which are mostly avoidable. This is anything but sustainable!

Unfortunately, a substantial amount of rainwater incident on our roofs, in many instances, ends up in our streets or else in the public sewers instead of being collected in mandatory rainwater cisterns. In a number of cases these rainwater cisterns are either too small or else inexistent!

It is no wonder that our streets are flooded whenever it rains!

In addition, the rainwater ends up overloading our urban wastewater treatment plants which use a considerable amount of energy to produce treated water (called new water) or else to be dumped into the sea. 

Two authorities are responsible for this mess.

The main culprit is the Planning Authority (and its predecessors) which in many cases failed to identify and halt development which did not have provision for rainwater harvesting.

An additional culprit is the Water Services Corporation (WSC). Over the years, the Water Services Corporation (WSC) has taken over responsibility for the management of the public sewers from the former Drainage Department. This responsibility includes authorising the owners of newly- constructed properties to connect the drains of these properties with the public sewer. Is the WSC verifying that it is only the drains that are connected and, in particular, that rainwater pipes are not connected to the public sewer too? The obvious answer is provided by our streets on a rainy day. Clearly, no one is bothering to check what is connected to the public sewer.

Last year, government had embarked on a consultation on stormwater management. In the consultation document entitled Green Stormwater Infrastructure Guidance Manual we were informed that only 36 per cent of dwellings have a water cistern. Compliance with rainwater harvesting regulations, we were then informed, varied from 80 per cent in the case of villas to 4 per cent in the case of apartment blocks. On a geographic basic, Gozo had a 25 per cent compliance!

Millions of euros of public funds, local and EU funds, have been utilised in useless projects. The incompetent authorities have employed many to manage the resource. We have many “managers” but no results. If you seek a proof take a look at our streets during a rainwater storm. You will have all the answers you require.

Our forefathers had no authorities to monitor rainwater harvesting. They had no managers to enforce compliance! They had common sense which led them to understand nature and to use natural resources respectfully.

If we are to solve the problems that we have created over the years we need to rediscover our forefathers’ skills. Making peace with nature and appreciating its free gifts would be a good start.

published in The Malta Independent on Sunday: 26 November 2023

Mhux pjaċiri ……….. drittijiet

Dan hu l-islogan li kien uża Michael Frendo, waqt il-kampanja elettorali tal-1987. Għaddew 36 sena, u l-affarijiet huma agħar milli kienu dakinnhar.

Hawn min irid il-pjaċiri ……… irid affarijiet li m’għandux, jew m’għandhiex, dritt għalihom.

Iridu liċenzja biex isuqu l-karozza, meta mhux kapaċi jgħaddu mill-eżami.

Iridu jaqbżu l-kju fl-istennija għal operazzjoni.

Iridu pensjoni ta’ diżabilità severa, meta m’għandhom l-ebda diżabilità severa.

Minn dawn in-nies dejjem kien hawn u ser jibqa’ jkun hawn bħalhom. Huma problema kbira għas-saħħa demokratika tal-pajjiż.

Meta l-politiku jipprova jaqdihom, lil dawn, ikun qed jaqdi lil min ma għandu l-ebda dritt. Ikun qed jabbuża. Ikun qed juża’ l-fondi pubbliċi fuq min mhux intitolat għalihom.

Għalhekk qed iservu l-uffiċini tal-customer care fid-diversi Ministeri. Għall-klijenteliżmu. Huma bejta għall-abbuż. Bil-barka ta’ Robert Abela, li, għax jiġġustifika dak li qed jagħmlu, hu kompliċi magħhom. Irid jerfa’ ir-responsabbiltà politika għal dak li qed jagħmlu.

Għax wara kollox, Rosianne Cutajar, kellha raġun. Bosta qed jitħanzru. Bil-barka tal-Prim!

The auditor general: enforcing accountability and ensuring good governance

The office of the Auditor General is a fundamental institution of our Republic. The office is attached to Parliament to which it reports on a regular basis.

Together with my colleagues, last week I had a meeting with the Auditor General and his team in order to discuss ADPD’s request for his office to examine the issues arising from the failure of  Enemalta’s distribution network during the July heatwave.

Has Enemalta managed its resources adequately over the years? Is proper planning in operation at the Corporation in order to ensure that the impacts of climate change are contained? The multiple failures of Enemalta’s distribution network indicate a negative response to these queries. Hence the need for an investigation to identify the method of operation of Enemalta over the years, spotlighting the mismanagement and lack of planning which has led to the current state of play. Those responsible must be held to account.

Our request for an investigation of Enemalta operations brings to four the number of pending ADPD requests for investigations on the Auditor General’s desk.

Earlier this year, in April, ADPD had requested an investigation of the Institute of Tourism Studies (ITS) relative to a contract of service entered into between the said ITS and the Honourable Rosianne Cutajar. She was then a Labour Member of Parliament, but is now an independent MP after being squeezed out of the Labour Parliamentary Group.

We had then requested that the Auditor General examine how the ITS could ever receive adequate service as detailed in its contract of service with the Hon Cutajar when the said Cutajar has no competence in such matters. Specifically, ADPD had drawn the attention of the Auditor General and queried as to how a qualified Italian secondary school teacher could advice on the management of the ITS including its financial management, an area in which it is public knowledge that Cutajar has no competence whatsoever.

Another request for an investigation submitted in January 2022 by ADPD concerns the golden handshakes received (mostly) by members of Cabinet whenever heads roll or Cabinets change. The criteria for the utilisation of public funds in such cases have to be clear and should not to be tailor-made and adjusted every so often by those directly concerned or earmarked to benefit.

Of particular concern is the lack of transparency as well as a lack of adequate oversight in this important area of expenditure. So far little feedback has been forthcoming. With rumours of another imminent Cabinet reshuffle intensifying, the importance of an early conclusion of this investigation is considerable.

A third investigation requested by ADPD concerns the Department of Revenue and its practice of offsetting taxes due with pending payments. As far as is known, this is being done without clear rules and robust oversight. Way back in May 2021 ADPD had requested the Auditor General to examine this practice in depth. Any deals on the offsetting of taxes due must stand up to public scrutiny. It must also be subject to robust oversight procedures.

If this is not done, we could have a serious problem on our hands. In a press statement issued on 19 May 2021 I had stated that “Any suspicions that tax reductions are a ‘thank you’ for any donations to the party in government must be swiftly dispelled.”

If properly done offsetting taxes due with pending payments may be a valid tool for the proper management of public funds. There is however a real danger that without proper oversight this practice could camouflage suspicious deals which at the end of the day further fund illegal political party financing.

The office of the Auditor General has a central role in ensuring that the public sector is transparently governed and accountable for all its actions and operations. It is likewise our duty at ADPD to draw its attention to investigate areas which in our opinion require careful scrutiny. We do this in the belief that the office of the Auditor General is a fundamental institution, essential for the good governance of our Republic.

The proper functioning of the republic’s institutions is the only effective guarantee for good governance and accountability.

published in The Malta Independent on Sunday 13 August 2023

Summer blackouts: with Ira Losco, in open spaces

At the time of writing multiple localities are trying to cope with night-long power cuts. In some cases, Enemalta Corporation maintenance personnel have been successful in carrying out repairs immediately, in other cases repairs took much longer. It will only get worse with these faults which have been euphemistically described by the Enemalta Press office as “network difficulties” caused by high temperatures. It will get worse as temperatures will be much higher.

The power demand has been well below the generation capacity of 830MW. The outages, we were informed, were caused by damage to the cables forming part of the distribution network as a result of the high temperatures generated. Why wasn’t this anticipated and acted upon? It is not rocket science! The upgrading of the electricity distribution network should have been a priority. Unfortunately, it isn’t.

The impacts on our families and businesses of these power cuts is substantial. They have a considerable bearing on our quality of life as they render the anticipated extremes of climate change unbearable. Facing an ambient temperature hovering around 40 degrees Celsius and higher, without the possibility to mitigate its impacts raises the inevitable questions as to whether government has its priorities right. It will get worse.  Elsewhere in the Mediterranean, in Sardinia and Sicily, temperatures of 48 degrees Celsius and higher are already a reality. Inevitably it will soon be our turn to face the music and it is already clear that we are not in any way prepared for what lies in store.

All this has a direct impact on our pockets too as whenever the blackout lasts for long hours, the contents of our refrigerators and freezers are no longer edible. They are rendered unsuitable. This is not only applicable to domestic households. It also impacts considerably the catering industry which has yet to fully recover from the Covid19 debacle.

In addition, whenever the power cut takes place during daylight hours this has an impact on the quantity of solar energy fed into the electricity grid. During a power cut, for security purposes, no energy is fed into the grid from solar panels.

Is preventive maintenance being carried out on the electricity grid? Is the promised upgrading of the electricity distribution system being seen through?

The repeated power cuts indicate that preventive maintenance is not being carried out adequately, if at all. The ever-increasing ambient temperatures are no surprise and consequently its impact on the distribution network could have been easily anticipated and planned for.

There is an additional issue. The massive development of residential units under way during the past years has not been accompanied with the corresponding upgrade in the electrical power infrastructure. The resulting simultaneous multiple power failures of the electricity grid at various points is indicative of this failure across the board.

Whatever maintenance has been done has not been adequate for the distribution system to function adequately in high temperatures. Where are the planners?

In all this there is a political responsibility to be shouldered by Energy Minister Miriam Dalli. Unfortunately, her office has been more focused on buttressing the MEP Labour candidature of Steve Ellul through multiple media events paid out of public funds than in ensuring that the real problems we face are being addressed.

There is a possible silver lining in all this. Possibly Miriam Dalli’s Ministry would celebrate her foresight and sponsor an Ira Losco online promotional campaign on the use and enjoyment of open spaces during the power blackouts! The use of open spaces during these summer blackouts could possibly make our life slightly more bearable. This would be an additional practical use for open spaces during the hot summer nights when we cannot make use of air-conditioners. Another opportunity for Losco to tap more into Dalli’s promotional budget during the summer months.

published in The Malta Independent on Sunday: 23 July 2023

Id-demokrazija lokali tista’ tħares l-ispazji urbani mħaddra

Għandna ħtieġa ta’ iktar spazji mħaddra fiz-zoni urbani. L-ispazji mħaddra huma ta’ għajnuna biex insaħħu, u fejn meħtieġ nistabilixxu mill-ġdid il-kuntatt tagħna man-natura. Dawn il-kuntatti ħadu daqqa sewwa riżultat tal-iżvilupp eżaġerat ta’ madwarna. Dan kollu hu ħtija ta’ Awtorità tal-Ippjanar li tat prijorità lill-iżvilupp esaġerat a skapitu tal-kwalità tal-ħajja tagħna lkoll.

Il-Kunsilli Lokali għandhom rwol importanti ħalli jassiguraw il-ħarsien tal-ispazji miftuħa mħaddra biex dawn ma jispiċċawx għalf ħalli jissodisfaw l-aptit tal-iżviluppaturi. Il-parti l-kbira tal-Kunsilli Lokali jsemmgħu leħinhom biex jiddefendu lill-lokalità tagħhom. Sfortunatament ma hemm l-ebda garanzija li jistgħu jaslu u dan għax il-gvern lokali hu biss ittollerat mill-gvern ċentrali.

L-aħħar eżempju, dak tal-Kunsill Lokali tal-Gżira, immexxi b’tant għaqal mis-Sindku Conrad Borg-Manché, għandu jkun ta’ twissija għal kulħadd. Fil-battalja legali li l-Kunsill Lokali tal-Gżira fetaħ dwar il-ġnien pubbliku kontra l-Awtorità tal-Artijiet ġie stabilit b’ċertezza li din l-Awtorità naqset milli twettaq żewġ miżuri bażiċi ta’ governanza tajba: naqset milli tkun trasparenti f’ħidmietha u naqset ukoll milli tikkonsulta mal-Kunsill Lokali tal-Gżira. 

Din hi problema li qed titfaċċa ta’ sikwit min-naħa tal-gvern ċentrali u l-agenżiji tiegħu li għandhom ħabta jibqgħu għaddejjin romblu minn fuq il-kunsilli lokali f’Malta u Għawdex. Il-gvern ċentrali għadu mhux komdu li jaġixxi f’kuntest fejn tirrenja s-sussidjarjetà u d-demokrazija lokali u dan minkejja li l-kunsilli lokali ilhom magħna għal kważi tletin sena.

Kemm il-darba jsir xogħol bil-galbu hi politika tajba li ninvestu fl-iżvilupp ta’ spazji miftuħa fiż-żoni urbani u l-madwar, u li dawn inħaddruhom.  Ikun, imma, għaqli jekk l-ewwel u qabel kollox inħarsu l-ispazji mħaddra li diġa għandna fiz-zoni urbani.

Ħarsu lejn il-ġnien pubbliku tal-Gżira u l-ġara tiegħu l-pompa tal-petrol.  Dawk li jfasslu l-politika tal-Awtorità tal-Artijiet u dik ta’ Project Green għandhom jaħsbu ftit dwar x’futur jista’ għandhom il-pompi tal-petrol. L-elettrifikazzjoni tal-karozzi daqt magħna u konsegwenza ta’ hekk ftit ftit tibda tonqos l-utilità tal-pompi tal-petrol, sakemm ma jkollniex bżonnhom iktar.  Hemm imbagħad il-mira tal-istrateġija tal-iżvilupp sostenibbli li l-karozzi fit-toroq jonqsu b’41 fil-mija. Dan kollu għandu jwassal b’mod loġiku għall-konsiderazzjoni li iktar jagħmel sens li tispiċċa l-pompa tal-petrol biex tagħmel il-wisa’ għal ġnien pubbliku ikbar. Dan jagħmel sens ferm iktar milli joqgħodu jnaqqru biċċiet mill-ġnien pubbliku biex ikabbru d-daqs tal-pompa tal-petrol!

Meta jirnexxielna nreġġgħu lura l-impatti tal-iżvilupp, nagħtu spinta tajba biex intejbu l-kwalità tal-ħajja ta’ kulħadd, mhux biss fil-Gżira!  Huwa f’dan il-qasam fejn jista’ jkollna bidla bis-serjetà fil-politika u l-azzjoni relattiva dwar l-ispazji miftuħa u mħaddra fiż-żoni urbani tagħna.  Hu faċli li troxx il-fondi pubbliċi fuq art abbandunata jew art fi stat ta’ telqa: €700 miljun faċli tonfoqhom b’dan il-mod! L-isfida qegħda biex tkun indirizzata l-ħsara li l-iżviluppaturi jikkawżaw fl-infrastruttura urbana li hi tant essenzjali biex nibqgħu f’kuntatt man-natura. Dan il-kuntatt tant essenzjali, jzommna b’saħħitna, anke mentalment, u jgħin sostanzjalment biex titjieb il-kwalità tal-ħajja!

Din hi t-triq realistika l-quddiem. Jeħtieġ li l-prinċipju tas-sussidjarjetà jkun prinċipju bażiku tal-governanza tajba kif ukoll li nassiguraw li jkunu l-Kunsilli Lokali li jmexxu dak kollu meħtieġ għall-iżvilupp u ż-żamma f’kundizzjoni tajba tal-infrastruttura urbana lokali, inkluż l-ispazji miftuħa mħaddra.

Il-Gvern ċentrali, permezz tal-Awtorità tal-Artijiet u Project Green, għandu jservi lid-demokrazija lokali flok ma jkompli jipprova joħnoqha.

Din hi l-lezzjoni li toħroġ mill-ġnien tal-Gżira.

ippubblikat fuq Illum: 7 ta’ Mejju 2023

Local democracy can protect our urban green spaces

We need more green open spaces in our urban areas. Green open spaces help us strengthen and where necessary re-establish our links with the natural world. These links have been severely impacted by the overdevelopment around us and by a Planning Authority which has prioritised overdevelopment at the expense of our quality of life.

Local Councils have a very important role to play in order to ensure that existing green open spaces are protected and do not continue to serve as fodder for the development lobby. Most Local Councils speak up to defend their locality. Unfortunately, success is not guaranteed as local government is, unfortunately, merely tolerated by central government.

The latest case, that of the Gżira Local Council, ably led by its Mayor Conrad Borg-Manché, should be an eyeopener. In its legal battle on the threatened public garden, the Gżira Local Council established beyond doubt that the Lands Authority failed the basic tests of good governance: the Lands Authority did not act transparently and in addition it has failed to consult with the Gżira Local Council.

This is a recurring problem with central government and its agencies who unfortunately tend to ride roughshod over local councils in Malta and Gozo. Central government is not yet sensitised to subsidiarity and local democracy notwithstanding that local councils have been around for almost thirty years.

Investing in the development of new green open spaces in our urban areas, or within easy reach, is good policy, if done properly. It would be much better, however, if existing green spaces in our urban areas are adequately protected. Much still needs to be done to achieve this objective.

Consider the Gżira public garden and its neighbour the fuel station. Policy makers at the Lands Authority and at Project Green should think about whether fuel stations have any future at all. The electrification of transport is in the pipeline and consequently it is only a question of time before fuel stations start the countdown leading to their disappearance. Coupled with the sustainable development strategy targeted reduction of 41 per cent of cars on the road this should lead to the logical consideration that it makes more sense for the fuel station to make way for an enlarged public garden instead of having parts of the public garden being nibbled away by the fuel station.

Reversing the impacts of development, for a change, could do wonders for our quality of life, not only in Gżira! This is where real changes are required to policies and action relative to the provision of green open spaces in our urban areas. It is relatively easy to splash public funds on abandoned or derelict land: all 700 million euros of it. The real challenge is where the development lobby is destructing or has already destructed the urban infrastructure which should keep us in contact with nature and as a result enhance our sanity and quality of life!

This is the realistic way forward. We should seek to apply subsidiarity as an operating principle of good governance, and ensure that local authorities take the lead in all matters concerning the development and enhancement of the local urban infrastructure, including that is, of green open spaces.

Central government, in this case through the Lands Authority and Project Green, should be at the service of local democracy instead of continuously seeking ways to strangle it. The local voice should lead the way and it should not be suffocated any longer.

This is the basic lesson from the Gżira garden saga.

published in The Malta Independent on Sunday: 7 May 2023

Propaganda politika imħallsa minn fondi pubbliċi

Il-każ żvelat illum minn The Shift News dwar l-użu ħażin ta’ fondi allokati lill-Ministeru immexxi minn Miriam Dalli hu gravi.

Mhux biss għax qed isir abbuż minn fondi pubbliċi imma ukoll għax qed issir propaganda politika sfaċċata u din qed titħallas b’fondi pubbliċi suppost għal Project Green!

Din hi l-politika l-ġdida tal-labour. L-abbużi jimmultiplikaw.

Nirrikunsidraw is-sussidji tal-enerġija, l-ilma u l-fuel

Bla ebda dubju hu l-każ li l-użu tal-enerġija u l-ilma jkun issussidjat f’dan il-mument ta’ kriżi. Dan is-sussidju għandu jkun immirat biex jindirizza l-impatti soċjali ta’ żieda fil-prezz tal-enerġija u l-ilma sakemm nibqgħu taħt l-effett tal-impatti tal-invażjoni tal-Ukrajina. M’għandniex nieħdu t-triq il-faċli li twassal għal abbuż minn fondi pubbliċi imferrxa fuq kulħadd.

Is-sussidji għandhom ikunu indirizzat lejn min għandu l-ħtieġa tagħhom. Xi ħtieġa hemm li tissussidja lil min għandu l-mezzi biex ikampa?

Il-konsum bażiku tal-enerġija u l-ilma fid-djar tagħna għandu definittivament jibqa’ protett bis-sussidji għaż-żmien li ġej. Din hi neċessità soċjali biex primarjament ikunu mħarsa l-vulnerabbli u dawk bi dħul baxx. Imma lil hinn mis-sussidji applikati għal dan il-konsum basiku ta’ enerġija u ilma ma hemm l-ebda raġuni biex dan is-sussidju jkun japplika għal konsum iktar minn dak bażiku. Min għandu l-mezzi li jwasslu għal konsum ikbar għandu jkollu ukoll ir-riżorsi biex jerfa’ l-ispiża addizzjonali tal-konsum tiegħu jew tagħha.

Ma hemm xejn ikkumplikat f’dak li qed ngħid. Huwa l-mod kif wara kollox diġa jinħadmu l-kontijiet għall-ilma li nikkunsmaw: il-konsum bażiku tal-ilma jitħallas b’rati sussidjati, filwaqt li konsum ikbar tal-ilma diġa jitħallas b’rati kummerċjali. M’għandu jkun hemm l-ebda diffikultà li dan jinftiehem: huwa l-mod kif il-kontijiet tal-ilma ilhom jinħadmu għal iktar minn tletin sena!

Dan kollu hu ukoll dibattibbli meta nikkunsidraw il-konsum ta’ ilma u l-enerġija meta dan il-konsum ma jsirx fir-residenzi. Hu raġjonevoli li napplikaw is-sussidji biex inħarsu l-impiegi. Jeħtieġ imma li s-sussidji jkunu iffukati. Ikun għaqli għalhekk li perjodikament neżaminaw mill-ġdid il-kif u l-kemm b’mod li dawn is-sussidji jkunu raġjonevoli u mhux iktar milli nifilħu bħala pajjiż.

Ma jagħmilx sens imma, li l-użu kollu tal-enerġija u l-ilma jkun issussidjat. Hu meħtieġ li r-riżorsi limitati li għandna nużawhom bir-reqqa.

Iżda l-kaz tas-sussidji għall-konsum tal-fuels, jiġifieri s-sussidji applikati għall-petrol u d-dijżil hi storja kompletament differenti. Il-Gvern diġa, wara ftit ġimgħat, biddel ftit il-proposta oriġinali tiegħu billi ma baqax jissussidja l-konsum tal-fuel (primarjament dijżil) fil-każ ta’ opri tal-baħar imdaqqsa.

Ma hemm l-ebda ħtieġa soċjali biex ikun issussidjat il-petrol u d-dijżil. In-numru żgħir ta’ każi fejn l-użu ta’ karozzi privati hu meħtieġ biex tkun indirizzata d-diżabilita konnessa mal-mobilità jistgħu faċilment ikollhom għajnuna iffukata għall-ħtiġijiet partikolari tagħhom.

It-tneħħija tas-sussidji fuq il-konsum tal-fuel ikun ifisser żieda sostanzjali fil-prezz tal-petrolu u d-dijżil. L-impatt ewlieni tat-tneħħija ta’ dan is-sussidju fuq jkun wieħed pożittiv għax iwassal għal tnaqqis immedjat ta’ karozzi mit-toroq tagħna. Dan iwassal ukoll għal titjib fil-kwalità tal-arja.

Tajjeb li uħud jiftakru li 50 fil-mija tal-vjaġġi li nagħmlu bil-karozzi privati fit-toroq tagħna huma vjaġġi għal distanzi qosra. Il-parti l-kbira ta’ dawn il-vjaġġi, bi prezz rejalistiku tal-petrol u d-dijżil ma jsirux u minflok jintuża t-trasport pubbliku jew forom oħra ta’ mobilità sostenibbli. It-trasport pubbliku kif nafu hu bla ħlas!

Il-partiti parlamentari presentement qed jargumentaw b’veduti dijametrikament opposti. Min-naħa l-waħda l-Labour irid jibqa’ b’sussidji fuq il-konsum kollu filwaqt li l-PN qed jargumenta favur li dawn is-sussidji jkunu eliminati. Dan il-kuntrast bejn il-PLPN  dwar iż-żamma jew it-tneħħija tas-sussidji iħawwad l-imħuħ. Neħtieġu nimxu bir-raġuni anke meta nitkellmu dwar is-sussidji f’dawn iċ-ċirkustanzi.

Ir-riżorsi tagħna huma limitati. Irridu nużawhom bil-għaqal biex inkunu nistgħu nibqgħu ngħinu lill-vulnerabbli.

ippubblikat fuq Illum: 30 t’April 2023