Day in day out we are hearing about more blunders and bad decisions taken by the Nationalist government.
Recently stories regarding culture and our heritage made it to the newspapers. One of the stories concerns our capital city Valletta, which the Nationalist Party (PN) is claiming that “they are going to give back to the people” with the Piano project. This is a case where those who ruined Valletta, especially with the building of City Gate in the 1960s, now want to make up for the error of their predecessors.
The World Heritage Committee at UNESCO recently felt the need to seek explanations from the government about Valletta, which is a World Heritage site. The neglect of the Maltese environment in recent years is putting in danger among other things our heritage. This committee asked the government to establish “clear policies” in relation to building height within the city and its environs. With this statement one can assume that policies do not exist to protect our capital city and now the government needs to address this matter with urgency.
By the way, if someone does not agree that the environment is in a state of neglect as a small example I invite them to drive behind a bus or a truck. Transport Authority please note.
The second issue also relates to culture and regards the Mediterranean Music Academy and having renowned conductor Maestro Muti at its helm. Riccardo Muti is one of the most renowned conductors of our times and I am a fan of this Italian maestro. However I am not a fan of how this government implements things. From its inception this academy was not well thought out and the plans, if any, were not implemented as should have been, given the magnitude of the task and person involved apart from the money required for this project. The launch of this academy took place in Rome in the presence of the then Culture Minister sitting side by side Maestro Muti.
Now it seems that this project, if it ever started, has been sidelined or even shelved. Money is a problem and conflicting statements by who was responsible in the past and the present incumbent shows the lack of direction and plans to set up this academy for which so much hype was made. The former minister is stating that funds were available from the Malta Tourism Authority and the current minister claims that the project fell through because of a lack EU funding. Who is telling the truth? For sure we citizens were taken for a ride yet again by this political gimmick a few weeks before a general election.
One final blunder! A couple of days ago I was discussing current issues with some others. During the course of the conversation the issue of lost files and evidence arose. One of them asked what happens in these circumstances. I would like to put this question to the authorities concerned, whoever these may be. When a file is 'lost' or 'misplaced' or 'destroyed' both from the Law Courts and from MEPA what happens? Is an investigation automatically initiated or does the authority concerned have to wait for instructions from above about the way forward? Can someone enlighten us common people about what happens and the results of such investigations if so?
I am pretty sure that no reply is going to be given on all issues mentioned above. This is also happening in Parliament when certain parliamentary questions are put to particular Ministers. There are ministers who at least until now still respect this institution, which supposedly is the highest institution in our democracy. One must add that there are authorities which snob parliamentarians and do not give a reply or at least a decent one. On of these authorities is the Transport Authority.
As an example I am going to mention a number of parliamentary questions that I made when speed cameras were introduced at Tal-Barrani road limits of Zejtun. I filed a number of questions on who decided about the limit of 60 km/h and why this differs from other arterial roads where the speed limit is 70 km/h? No reply.
Another instance was when just three days before the European Parliament and Local Councils elections, ADT removed a loading and unloading bay from a Square in Zabbar. In a particular PQ the authority replied to parts of the question and ignored others that they did not want to reply.
Questions raised by MPs in the interest of the electorate should be given their due attention and a decent reply should be given. Not doing this is, apart from being a sign of arrogance, a sign that democracy is not working as it should be. As such the prime minister and his ministers should not be complacent on this issue or, even worse, form part of the same ploy.
Carmelo Abela is Deputy Speaker and Labour main spokesperson for Industry and Foreign Investment
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