It is indeed GOOD to see useful public projects that improve our standard of living being carried out rather than wasteful and unnecessary projects such as the new parliament building, the removal of city gate that created a break in the city’s bastions, and narrowing the entrance bridge to our capital city. A few weeks ago I was pleasantly surprised to see considerable upgrading public works taking place at the entrance of Pembroke as I was passing through in my vehicle.

But the good feeling turned into a BAD one when I had the opportunity of taking a closer look at the work being done during the now regular strolls I take in the areas of Pembroke. Lately, during these frequent walks, I noted that several acts of vandalism had been committed. With a sinking feeling I noticed that several sections of the top layer of boundary walls had been toppled over. The good ambience of a few weeks ago had been dramatically and swiftly turned into bad sightings as the toppled walls and other extensive damage had turned the area into a ghastly and hazardous environment. I appealed to the local council to direct some of its building’s CTTV cameras in the direction of the works (just across from the local council building) to try to catch the culprits. Their answer was that these acts of vandalism were probably taking place at night and their security cameras were not equipped with night vision. It was also surmised that drunken foreign students committed these bad acts during their last night of partying, and consequently it was practically impossible to prosecute them before they leave the country.

The UGLY side of this was that when examining the stone works, it was clearly evident that the mortar applied was of the weakest type and so fragile that even a small child could cause quite some damage. In some areas, the top layers of these walls were built practically of loose Malta stone indicating that either the weak mortar has already been washed away by the rain that has fallen since then, or no mortar was applied at all. This ugly situation could have been avoided if appropriate mortar had been applied and a layer of concrete at least three inches thick was laid on top of the wall impregnated/embedded into the stone work and with expansion joints at certain intervals. In contrast, other walls constructed in other areas of Pembroke during the colonial period have withstood the test of times. Even more ugly is the case of several trees that were destroyed because according to original public works plans it was intended to build a bus depot, which later turned out to be unnecessary. But the ugliest of them all relates to the row of old beautiful pine trees, palm trees, and other varieties that had been providing vegetation and shade next to “Australia Hall”, and which were mercilessly cut down in the name of sustainable development by none other than the Ministry of Resources and Rural Affairs under the auspices of the Malta Environment & Planning Authority. The trees were also part of our heritage and history since, as stated by residents in the vicinity, they were planted by British and Australian soldiers who were stationed in Pembroke during colonial rule.

It is a shame that in this jewel of a little country our governing authorities conduct public works in half measures launched with pomp and circumstance. Do public works authorities engage civil inspectors to check on public works? Or is this a wasteful exercise of shoddy work that requires frequent maintenance at taxpayers’ expense? Why does there have to be the good, the bad, and the ugly side in all projects done by our local administration?

Raymond Sammut

MELLIEHA