The real cost sustained by the economy as a result of the recent four-day strike by public transport operatives has yet to be assessed, but the inadequacies of the Maltese public transport service were identified many years ago and have never been resolved.
Transport Minister Austin Gatt had blunt words when he expressed his concerns in a letter to the chairman of the Malta Transport Authority (ADT) in the first days of July. He spoke of inefficiency, disorganisation, lack of co-ordination and managerial indecision. He could have said much more, not least about the many stories relating to corrupt practices on the part of ATP operatives, all of which were widely reported in the media in the months leading up to the last general election.
A Nationalist administration has been in office for the best part of the last 20 years. Although there has been a succession of 15 or more different chairmen and boards running the Transport Authority since l987, and despite the fact that the government tried to tinker with the public transport service, we are still on Square One.
The recent strike was a trial of strength that brought the public transport service to a standstill. Its repercussions in the business sector will be of long duration. The end result was a decision of the Transport Federation to call it off. The government claimed ‘victory’ in that the federation agreed to talk about the issue of liberalization of the whole sector. The chairman of the federation denied this – nevertheless, the government spoke triumphantly about a breakthrough, and the Minister is already envisaging plans to this effect flowering between 2010 and 2015.
This is the way of Maltese politics. A government, which has languished in the mire of inertia for two decades, turns a blind eye on its inefficiencies. It pretends to erase from public memory its dismal record, and instantly begins to brag about its magic wand, which will deliver Malta from its plight in the years to come! And the electorate is expected to hold its breath in wonder!
Of late, this has been happening all the time and has been described as the “Gonzian way of doing politics”.
Mepa is another playground where his game has been played to exhaustion by the incumbent administration.
There is much talk about the government’s solicitous efforts to protect the environment from the greed of developers, and about the delineation of a Development Zone – with a view to protecting the open areas outside it.
Yet, no less than 6,509 development permits outside the development zone (ODZ) were issued by Mepa between January 2000 and June of this year; 2,836 such permits were issued between the year 2000 and 2003. In the succeeding four years, there has been a 17 per cent increase. The rape of the environment goes on unchecked despite street protests and popular wrath.
Prime Minister Gonzi tried to defuse the anger by assuming direct responsibility for Mepa, and by promising to “reform” the outfit. The proof of the pudding, which is in the eating, takes time.
Yet another episode of this kind was Dr Gonzi’s request to Mepa to consider ix-Xaghra l-Hamra as a possible site for his proposed policy to provide Malta and Gozo with a golf course. There was fierce, open resistance from local environmental movements, after which came a U-turn, with the government declaring the area as a natural heritage park, and claiming all the credit.
The more topsy-turvy the politics, the more the government seeks to claim credit for failed policies.
All of this is proof positive that there are still some politicians (and opinion makers) prowling in the Maltese political scene who think that this is an island of make-believe
jgv@onvol.net
