Recently I went on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. This was extremely insightful. I learned a lot of lessons, and also had ample time to reflect on a few local issues.
We, the 400,000 residents of Malta, must appreciate more what we have. We live in a jewel of a country, blessed with a rich history, with beautiful landscapes and mild climate. We enjoy a relatively peaceful life, compared to other countries. The Holy Land comes to my mind. On the other hand, I am quite bothered by the fact that we are becoming more individualistic, and worst of all lack certain basic civil pride. If we Maltese do not take care of our country, who will take care of it? The tourists will simply find an alternative destination.
Two recent incidents spring to my mind. The Mellieha local council has recently banned all barbeques on the sand in Mellieha Bay, while the MHRA has complained of the filth in the country. Why do certain people have to be so filthy? With just a little effort, we can make this place a much better place to live in. We are already blessed with a lot of assets, let us just be more tolerable and think about our surroundings whenever we enjoy ourselves. Barbecuing is a national pastime. That’s fair and good. Why then do we have to spoil the fun for fellow people, or for other people who will decide to go on the beach the day after?
I was so astonished to read that the specific charcoal trash bins were stolen within 24 hours. Who needs to steal a trash bin? Apparently some people were interested in these bins, unless this was pure vandalism. Why do people need to throw charcoal over the sand ? Isn’t Mellieha Bay used by other people the day after? Why ruin the fun for other people? God has gifted us with lovely beaches. Can’t we preserve them for our own children, the same way our forefathers took care of them before our time? I feel that we can do much better in keeping our beaches clean by walking a few metres and just throw our trash in the trash bins. Again if there are no trash bins, we can just put all the trash in a bag and take it home. What effort would this entail?
Apart from littering the beaches, people tend to litter everywhere. The entrance to our capital city is a mess and the Government is going to address this issue with Renzo Piano’s project. However we still have people who just enjoy throwing their waste in the country side. Do we not know that bulky refuse is collected for free?! In most other countries, throwing away bulk refuse (such as personal computers, fridges, ovens etc.) costs a lot of money and yet we enjoy this service for free.
The MHRA has recently complained that the country is filthy. It could be a bit exaggerated because a lot of work is being done by local councils, government authorities and departments and NGOs to keep our island clean. However I feel that everyone needs to do his part, including the hoteliers themselves. Unless this was a political statement by Mr Decesare, we should not expect the government to take over and fill the gap for our social responsibilities. It is useless to have the most efficient cleaning system, if the Maltese residents and tourists themselves do not cooperate and start littering within a few minutes.
When Mr Decesare passed the comment that the government should do more to clean the country, he was speaking with the leader of the Opposition. He should have told the Opposition Leader that it would be wise if the productivity of the employees responsible for cleaning increases as well. It’s obvious that most of these workers do not even perform to the best of their abilities. I am sure that they can do more. If the Government tries to increase productivity as they should, would the GWU wake up?
Speaking of productivity, I was astonished to hear that the Opposition Leader is trying to jeopardise the current MCESD discussion on wage increases. The MCESD social partners have been collaborating for a while now, and the Labour leader without any shame, is trying to distance employers from employees by inciting one against the other. After having politicised issues that should have never been politicised (such as illegal immigration), now he is trying to politicise issues belonging to internal MCESD discussions. This has never ever happened before. This is truly a new way of doing politics, unethical politics that is!
We should be more proud of our country and build on what we have. Compared to others we have a jewel in the middle of the Mediterranean. We enjoy democracy, liberty, and justice. Let us all do our part and work hard to make each part of this country as if it were part of our home. If we keep Malta as clean as our home we would have every where spick and span... a real home that we all deserve.
Can we do it... yes we can!
David Agius is the Government Whip
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