Another power blackout this week when our country was hit by a storm reveals once again how the lack of planning in various areas of  infrastructure and the country’s unsustainable economic model means one crisis after another, ADPD-The Green Party leader Sandra Gauci said.

Despite the crisis in electricity distribution this summer, nobody carried the can. In a country where everyone clings to the seat of power no one seems to be responsible for their actions. Typical of the culture of friends of friends that Labour has adopted, no one seems to have bothered to ask for Enemalta CEO Jonathan Cardona’s qualifications. From a passport ‘salesperson’ at Castille, Cardona was catapulted to CEO of Enemalta. The appointment of people from Labour’s inner-circle to delicate places of responsibility, smacks of nepotism paid for through people’s taxes. All this while their quality of life regresses.

Minister Miriam Dalli herself did not feel that she had to take responsibility for her incompetence and ended up blaming the heat for ‘melting underground cables’. However, blackouts also occurred this week, when surely she couldn’t blame the heat. The reality is that we have a crumbling system that does not keep up with the growing demand for energy because of overdevelopment, and  population growth including mass tourism over the years. No planning and foresight whatsoever, for the predictable.

In light of this emergency ADPD-The Green Party has presented a set of proposals. Among the things we are proposing are smart grids which monitors energy flows and demand and adjusts to changes in energy supply and demand, Gauci said.

She insisted that there is a need for a moratorium on large developments. Overdevelopment has meant less natural sinks for rain water and flooded roads. A huge number of buildings also illegally dispose of rain water in sewers, leading to sewage shooting out of manholes practically everytime it rains. flooding everytime it rains.

We want an economy based on wellbeing. Currently Malta's economy is based on the exploitation of people, overdevelopment, the excessive use of our natural resources and the almost total dependence on imported energy. There is a need for an economic model based on  people's quality of life and the common good, in which social and ecological limits are respected, Gauci concluded.