Whatever structures are set in place to monitor and protect the island's environment, it will remain in danger. Up to now it has been the case that the value of land continued to increase, even when the economy was stalled. In such a situation, the pressures to allow more and more development become quite irresistible.
However it is not new construction alone that poses a threat to the environment. In the use made of land that has already been developed, in transport, in waste management, in the protection of flora and fauna, in coastal management, there exist significant limits to how effective we can be in managing environmental requirements. In the past this did not push us towards greater effort. Instead we ended commissioning reports and studies that solved nothing, when they did not indeed give rise to further controversies.
The best approach to overcome the limitations we face in this context is by mounting a very serious effort to find solutions to a problem as soon as it is identified, even if they turn out not to be perfect. To procrastinate over a decision might appear to be prudent, but most likely as a tactic, it ends up making things worse.
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German elections
Regional elections held last weekend in Germany were a rebuff to Chancellor Angela Merkel, practically athumbs down to her policy on refugees. Merkel could have taken the lesson to "heart" by trying now to tone down the same policy. Actually in practice during past weeks, she had multiplied legal, administrative and diplomatic checks to hinder the entry of migrants.
However instead of proclaimingthis or giving people to understand she would be increasing the barriers to immigration, she came forward to declare that the policies followed up to now were correct and just, for they reflect the best of European values. She insisted she would do her best to keep to them.
If she had spoken to them in this way, people in Malta would surely have called her hard headed.
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The new ombudsman
The decision to appoint the new Ombudsman from within the ranks of the civil service was a good one, so long as he shows the will to carry out his duties in a strong and balanced manner in the interests of citizens. The first Ombudsman Joe Sammut did this impeccably. The knowledge he had of the operations of public administration helped a lot. The second Ombudsman was a disappointment on practically all fronts; I always found it curious that his mandate was renewed.
The new Ombudsman Anthony Mifsud had a hesitant start as auditor general but then the quality of the work he carried out over the years to now continued to improve. There still are great defects in the manner by which certain reports are prepared, not least that on the government's annual financial statements. These remain badly focussed and simply follow a traditional pattern which no longer reflects the contemporary requirements of public accountability.
I augur that Mr Mifsud picks up the good work from where the first Ombudsman left it. He has to show consistencyno matter who is in government, and when cases that require a remedy come before him, he should not steer away from them on the grounds that it’s up to the courts to deal with them.