We have been informed of another government decision to build Parliament on the old opera site together with a new entrance to Valletta. It should cost less than e80 million and should be ready prior to the next general elections in 2013.
City Gate and Freedom Square are closely associated with carnival, an event that is wantonly celebrated by common people who feel free to confront those in power with satirical messages. Now Parliament is set to encroach on Freedom Square at the behest of Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi and Minister Austin Gatt who less than a year ago came out with the electoral slogan “Together everything is possible.” Their unilateral decision shows otherwise, that people have next to no say in common endeavours. What started as an e-government vision has degenerated into a bigger kantuni-and-mortar government.
The haste of this announcement gives rise to troubling questions. Why did the tandem forge ahead with this project now, less than one month after the budget? Is it after all dawning that the budget falls short of addressing the downturn? Has perhaps a long awaited smart project been put on the backburner? Or has one of the major companies hinted that it will close shop in Malta? Has the new project been taken out of the hat now to do the trick and calm down the people in view of some approaching major setbacks that are already known to the higher echelons?
The PM and Minister Gatt should know that a diktat is not the way forward to restore the confidence that has been shattered with the introduction of the utility hikes. Hasty announcements at this stage are more likely to signal the absence of a coherent plan to address the downturn.
Could the PM and Minister Gatt tell us how they arrived at the figure of between e60 to e80 million? And are the foreseen public funds to be raised through higher tariffs in future?
The people of Malta are not only entitled to know more on the substantial alterations to the original plans, but also to a reliable breakdown of this capital expenditure. Otherwise we risk a Mater Gate.
Government projects always cost more than they think they will. Given the magnitude and implications of the new project, let the people vote about this project during the upcoming EP elections in June. Irrespective of the outcome of such a referendum, Gonzi-Gatt could then rightly claim that “Together everything is possible.”
Agnes Debono
Kercem