Il-flyovers ma jsolvu xejn

 

 

Il-konġestjoni tat-traffiku f’pajjiżna sejra mill-ħażin għall-agħar.

It-twessiegħ tat-toroq, il-ftuħ ta’ toroq ġodda u l-kostruzzjoni ta’ flyovers ma huma ser isolvu xejn. Għax dawn kullma jagħmlu hu l-wisa’ għal iktar karozzi u jinkoraġixxu ż-żieda ta’ iktar karozzi fit-toroq tagħna għax joħolqulhom l-ispazju. B’hekk il-problema tkompli tikber. Anzi, inkabbruha aħna stess bl-infieq, bla ħsieb, fl-infrastruttura tat-toroq.

Inizjattivi li jħajru użu ikbar tat-trasport pubbliku huma tajba. Kull inċentiv li jwassal għal użu iktar frekwenti tat-trasport pubbliku hu pass il-quddiem. Imma jinħtieġ ukoll iktar investiment fi transport alternattiv kif ukoll li titjieb l-infrastruttura għalih. L-infrastruttura li tiffaċilita l-użu tar-rota, per eżempju, ftit li xejn teżisti. Fuq kollox hawn preġudizzju kbir kontra l-użu tar-rota u kontra ċ-ċiklisti.

Fuq kollox is-settur pubbliku jeħtieġ li jagħti l-eżempju ħalli jħajjar iktar mill-impjegati tiegħu jagħmlu użu mir-rota biex imorru għax-xogħol. Imma biex dan ikun jista’ isir jeħtieġ li jkunu ipprovduti showers fuq il-post tax-xogħol li minnhom hemm ftit li xejn. Il-Gvern jista’ jekk irid jieħu l-inizjattiva u jagħti l-eżempju. U inizjattiva ta’ din ix-xorta ftit tiswa’ flus.

Il-parti l-kbira tad-distanzi bejn post u ieħor f’pajjiżna huma żgħar. Dan suppost jagħmilha iktar faċli biex iktar persuni jinqatgħu mid-dipendenza fuq il-karozza privata. Għalhekk forsi jista’ jkun iktar faċli li naslu lejn soluzzjoni jekk għall-bidu niffukaw il-ħidma tagħna fuq livell lokali bil-ħsieb li innaqqsu sostanzjalment l-użu tal-karozzi privati f’distanzi żgħar fil-lokalitajiet infushom kif ukoll bejn il-lokalitajiet ġirien. F’uħud mill-irħula, per eżempju spiss niltaqgħu ma bdiewa anżjani li jiċċaqalqu min-naħa għall-oħra tar-raħal bir-rota. Eżempju li jista’ jinfirex mat-tfal tal-iskola u bil-mod il-mod mal-bqija tal-komunitá. Minn livell lokali imbagħad nistgħu nfirxu l-esperjenza għal-lokalitajiet qrib.

Għax anke fil-qasam tat-trasport il-problemi nazzjonali jistgħu jissolvew fl-ibliet u l-irħula tagħna. Il-problemi ambjentali ikkawżati mill-konġestjoni tat-traffiku nistgħu nsolvuhom b’dan il-mod. Is-soluzzjonijiet imbaghad jinfirxu għall-bqija tal-pajjiż. Dan li jfissru l-kliem think global, act local.

Għax il-konġestjoni tat-traffiku ma nsolvuhiex bil-flyovers iżda billi illum irawmu l-ġenerazzjonijiet ta’ għada. B’hekk nistgħu naslu. Ovvjament jekk irridu naslu.

ippubblikat fuq l-Illum, nhar it-23 t’Ottubru 2016

Greening the Constitution

Alternattiva Demokratika – The Green Party –  is in agreement that 50 years after its adoption Malta’s Constitution needs to be updated.  However such an exercise, as emphasised in AD’s 2013 electoral manifesto, should be carried out with the direct involvement of civil society. The Constitution belongs to all of us.

There are a number of issues which require careful consideration. In AD’s 2013 electoral manifesto at least fourteen such issues are identified. They vary in scope from electoral reform to widening the issues in respect of which discrimination is prohibited, by including protection from discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. AD also proposes the introduction of a Constitutional provision in favour of a balanced budget, thereby ensuring that government is forced to discard budget deficits and consequently to control the spiralling public debt.

One very important issue is the need to entrench environmental rights and duties in the Constitution. The proposed Constitutional Convention, supported by AD, should aim at Greening the Constitution. That is, it should aim at addressing environmental rights and duties such that they are spelled out in unequivocal terms.  Environmental rights and duties should as a minimum be spelled out as clearly as property rights in the Constitution. They are worthy of protection just as the rights of individual persons.

Article 9 of the Constitution very briefly states that “The State shall safeguard the landscape and the historical and artistic patrimony of the nation.”  Further, in article 21 of the Constitution we are informed that this (and other safeguards) “shall not be enforceable in a Court” but that this (safeguard) shall be “fundamental to the governance of the country” and that it shall be the aim of the State to apply it in making laws.

It is not conducive to good governance to first declare adherence to specifc safeguards, but then specifically excluding the Courts from ensuring that such safeguards are being observed.

The strategy of announcing principles but then not providing the legislative framework for their implementation was also taken up in environmental legislation. In fact articles 3 and 4 of the 2010 Environment and Development Planning Act  announce a whole list of sound environmental principles. However  in article 5 of the same Act it is then stated that these cannot be enforced in a Court of Law!

When I had the opportunity of discussing the Environment and Development Planning Bill with Mario de Marco (then Parliamentary Secretary responsible for Tourism and the Environment) I had proposed on behalf of the Greens that the declarations  in articles 3 and 4 of the Bill should not be just guiding principles. They ought to be made enforceable by our Courts subject to the introduction of  a suitable transition. Unfortunately Dr de Marco did not take up the Greens proposal.

As things stand today, article 3 of the Environment and Development Planning Act announces very pompously that the government,  as well as every person in Malta, has the duty to protect the environment. Furthermore it is announced that we are duty bound to assist in the taking of preventive and remedial measures to protect the environment and manage resources in a sustainable manner.

Article 4 goes further:  it  states that government is responsible towards present and future generations.  It then goes on to list ten principles which should guide government in its endeavours.  Integrating environmental concerns in decisions on socio-economic and other policies is first on the list. Addressing pollution and environmental degradation through the implementation of the polluter pays principle and the precautionary principle follows immediately after.  Cooperation with other governments and entities enshrines the maxim of “think global, act local” as Malta both affects and is affected by environmental impacts wherever they occur.  The fourth guiding principle is the need to disseminate environmental information whilst the fifth one underlines the need of research as a basic requirement of sound environment policy.  The waste management hierarchy is referred to in the sixth principle followed immediately by underlining the requirement to safeguard biological diversity and combatting all forms of pollution.  Article 4 ends by emphasising that the environment is the common heritage and common concern of mankind and underlines the need to provide incentives leading to a higher level of environmental protection.

Proclaiming guiding principles in our Constitution and environmental legislation is not enough. Our Courts should be empowered in order that they are able to ensure that these principles are actually translated into concrete action.   Government should be compelled to act on the basis of Maltese legislation as otherwise it will only act on environmental issues when and if forced to by the European Union as was evidenced in the past nine years.

Greening the Constitution by extending existing environmental provisions and ensuring that they can be implemented will certainly be one of the objectives of the Greens in the forthcoming Constitutional Convention.

published in the Times of Malta 18 May 2013