The country’s energy sector is without doubt one of its most problematic hot potatoes.
The country is 100 per cent dependent on imported fuel oil, the contentious issue of energy prices are dictated by international markets as a result and it needs to close down one of its major power plants in the very near future.
That capacity needs to be replaced, the advent of renewable energy is still to tangibly get off the ground and pollution levels present a very clear and present danger to its citizens’ health.
But against this backdrop, the government continues to take its decisions and react to the sector’s multifaceted ailments with a ham fist.
The latest antics at Wednesday’s Public Accounts Committee hearing well and truly smack of a government that just does not want to discuss the issue and is resisting further debate on what appears to be truly shady dealings, a matter the European Commission is also concerned about, are similarly farcical.
And then we have the matter of the actual technology chosen for the running of the power station extension – heavy fuel oil in an age in which the whole of the western world is moving away from such technologies and their dangers to public health.
The debacle over the power station extension debate earlier this year and the tit for tat over who voted which way on the opposition’s motion on the contract was equally deplorable.
Now we have had the black dust issue cropping up again at the beginning of the week, when the Prime Minster declared the still ongoing problem to be a case closed because, he said, it was no longer occurring. Come again? Just ask residents of any of the localities affected by the ‘mysterious’ black dust and they will tell you it is still present. This newspaper has received a number of reports over recent months claiming quite the opposite.
But, with all due respect, even if the problem has subsided or vanished altogether, an investigation and answers are still every much warranted. Firstly because people who have been affected want to know what, exactly, they have been subjected to and secondly, the only way to prevent it happening again is by getting to the source of the problem. Those are the government’s responsibilities.
But after Monday’s statement and the outcry that followed in its wake, the government proposed a parliamentary committee to investigate. Although not exactly a parliamentary affair, it is high time the opposition was also involved in getting to the bottom of what is a serious problem.
The whole matter smacks of gross incompetence and neglect on the part of the powers that be.
There are a few hypotheses about the origin of the black dust – ranging from the innocuous to the perilous. Many lay the blame at the doorstep of the Marsa power station, that dinosaur of electricity generation, and their suspicions are understandable – just speak with residents of Marsa who live in the shadow of the smokestacks and they will relate stories of babies born with asthma and a host of other health problems suffered by those living nearby.
What is irrefutable is that the pollution-collecting precipitators at the power plant were completely switched off for effectively seven months during the height of the latest black dust outbreak. This was a decision taken by the authorities.
Irrespective of whether the source of the black dust is indeed the Marsa plant, the fact of the matter is that the pollution collected by the precipitators was dispersed into the atmosphere at a rate of one tonne a day. There is a very good reason for the precipitators – they collect harmful pollution that should not make to the air we breathe, that is the very reason for their existence.
Why were they switched off? Storage problems that have now apparently been resolved.
The country and its people deserve a lot better than this.
New beginnings for
The IndependentWith tomorrow’s issue, the daily edition of The Malta Independent enters a new and exciting era. As of tomorrow, our sister paper will be pushing the bar yet again for whole of the Maltese publishing industry.
A new, large format, full colour daily newspaper - both firsts for Malta - will be on the newsstands tomorrow morning. Not only is the printing crisp and sharp, the design fresh and the editorial content been given a breath of fresh air, the new look Independent is also environmentally friendly – it is printed on recycled paper with water based inks. Apart from that, it is also finger friendly in that it will leave no black smudges on readers’ fingers.
The advantages are multiple, but those will be best left for readers to judge and we will welcome their feedback on our new venture. We are sure they will be as excited as we at Standard Publications are.
A hearty thanks to our production manager Andre Camilleri, managing editor Stephen Calleja and of course to The Malta Independent daily editor Michael Carabott for their sterling, creative and indispensible preparatory work that has made what has been an aspiration in the pipeline for some time now a bold new reality.