From Mr V. Spiteri

True to form, the incumbent party in government, on the eve of another election is promising jam tomorrow. We can now expect another plethora of promises, piled upon the existing plethora of promises, which never seem to materialise.

How can one keep loyalty to a party that promises a lot and delivers so little? I was brought up to believe that a promise was a debt that must be honoured. Our politicians evidently had a very different upbringing to mine.

Today, 31 July, I went to Mosta to collect my medicine. I arrived at 7.30am naively thinking that I would be at the head of the queue. My number was 72, meaning that there were 71 people ahead of me. How many times have we been promised that this Third World method of drug distribution was to be terminated to allow a patient to obtain his medicine from his neighbourhood pharmacy?

The reason why the government is unable to deliver on its promise can be traced to a stupid decision to politicise the introduction of the 50c charge on a prescription. A wise and prudent minister should have not only welcomed this modest charge, but built on it. As it is, a bankrupt government is forced to admit that the way things developed within our national health department has rendered the system unsustainable. I am thinking about the rocketing prices of drugs and other ancillary items that we take for granted, as well as coping with the constant advancements in medical science.

Yet, behind the doors of every government clinic and pharmacy, people are complaining about the mind-boggling inertia of this administration.

Dr Deguara seem to be blissfully unaware of the mounting disappointment and anger at the way his ministry is perceived, even by his supporters like myself who find themselves utterly unable to defend the myriad broken promises with which we were regaled. In another letter, I made a simple suggestion to Dr Deguara. He can alleviate the present shambles of drug distribution by making it possible for a patient to collect his prescription medicines from a local pharmacy nominated by the government. As long as such a system is voluntary, a charge of Lm3 could be levied to offset the extra expense this service will incur. It will also dramatically reduce the pressure on these over worked pharmacies and it will save face for the government. Such an option will be well received by many people, who will gladly pay Lm3 for a decent service.

What ever happened to all the fanfare by Minister Censu Galea about public transport re-organisation? This is another matter I will never be able to forgive the government for reneging on.

The chickens are coming home to roost. No amount of new promises will make a voter forget all that has already been promised. My advice to this administration is to resist piling more heavy baggage onto that with which it is already burdened. Sort out and deliver on a few easily identifiable and rectifiable sources of discontent instead. The alternative is going to be the rout of the century.

Victor Spiteri

ATTARD