Less than two days after the Minister responsible for Tourism proudly announced that Malta now boasts 13 Blue Flag beaches, the Fajtata beach in Marsascala, one of the beaches awarded this recognition, had to be closed due to a sewage spill into the sea, the Nationalist Party said Tuesday.
This is yet another structural failure that reveals how the government has done nothing for years to protect and maintain the country's infrastructure, even more so in light of an ever-growing and uncontrolled population. Water quality, public health, and Malta's reputation as a tourist destination are being directly put at risk due to a lack of serious investment in basic infrastructure, the PN said.
Just a few days ago, authorities warned against swimming in Sliema's Qui-si-Sana and Chalet area due to another sewage spill. A notice was also issued stating that the Fond Għadir area in Tas-Sliema was unfit for swimming due to contamination following damage to a stormwater culvert. The Xlendi beach in Gozo was also closed for several days as the sea there too was deemed unsafe for swimming. A few weeks ago, the area between St Thomas Bay and Fajtata was also declared contaminated after another culvert overflowed.
Just as a house deteriorates when left without maintenance, our country regresses when infrastructure is not properly cared for and maintained in a timely and planned manner. Malta is our home, the PN said.
Maintenance needs to be carried out year-round, and the sewage system, among others, must be able to cope with current demand.
The PN reiterated its call for a serious national plan to address the ever-growing pressure on our infrastructure. The fact that the same Government boasts about the "quality" of beaches only for one of them to be closed two days later due to sewage is a clear example of the lack of planning and vision in this sector.
The PN said it believes the Maltese and Gozitans deserve to enjoy the beaches in safety, with a clean environment and infrastructure that meets today's needs while preparing for tomorrow's. It also believes that tourists should be able to enjoy what they come here for.
If the Government continues to patch things up with makeshift solutions, all we'll end up with is a mess, the PN said.
PL statement
In response, the PL said that a European Union report has once again ranked Malta's beaches among the best in the EU, with over 92% in excellent condition and the rest in good and satisfactory condition.
"Although the Nationalist Party needed four spokespersons to issue a statement about part of a beach that was closed as a precaution following a problem with a public convenience, the EU recognises the ongoing successes our country continues to achieve in water quality."
"The Nationalist Party attempted to create a national issue from a problem with a public convenience, choosing to distort facts and lie to imply a fault in the national sewage system or suggest that the beaches in Malta are of poor quality. It is worth noting that this same Nationalist Party, mistook rainwater in Xlendi for sewage; in cases where a private establishment's system has failed, tries to blame the Government," the PL said.
"The Maltese and Gozitan people expect different types of politics from us, and it would be wise for the Nationalist Party to take this time to truly reflect on what kind of politics it wants to promote - whether it is one of solutions in the national interest or the populist and parochial kind it has become so well known for today. Facebook likes do not govern a country."