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The
iPoll is a synergy between MaltaToday, our sister Internet magazine, www.maltamag.com
and you the readers.
Every Sunday,
in this regular feature, we will publish two opinion articles arguing
both sides of a case and then, on Monday, an Internet poll will be put
up on the website asking users to vote on the issue at hand. The results
of the poll will then be published the next Sunday in MaltaToday. If you
do not have Internet, you can use the coupon on this page to vote.
In line with our philosophy that no issue is too big or too small, the
subjects we will tackle range from the controversial to the trivial. Issues
which we will tackle in the weeks to come include abortion, Malta's Eurovision
venture, euthanasia and other subjects that will certainly give you plenty
of food for thought and the chance to have your say in many great debates.
One final thing. People who send in the attached coupon with their voting
preference will automatically participate in a competition. Each week
one lucky participant will win a flight to Prague.
The first issue we will be looking at is whether Malta tends to only gets
a clean-up when foreign dignitaries visit the island.
What do you think? We want to know. Below we have included the contrasting
opinions of two personalities to help you make up your mind.
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Ipoll
 The
cleaning whitewash
By
Harry Vassallo
Hosting foreign dignitaries has always meant a spate of last minute
cleanups. It must be a combination of our traditional hospitality
and some leftover from our colonial past: we feel we're on parade
and want to make a good show.
Fair enough, it's the Maltese being ourselves. It can hardly be
unique to Malta either. Papal visits are known to cause small economic
booms around the world.
To some extent it's a good thing too. Some jobs which tend to hug
the bottom of the list of priorities suddenly jump the queue that
would otherwise delay them for good. Thanks to the foreign dignitary
we get to enjoy some of the facelifts after the dignitary has gone.
What irks me is the idea that much of the facelift is a cosmetic
job, designed to last very little beyond the visit itself. The last
time the Pope was in Malta, tarmac poured onto our streets like
a lava flow. The money was found (or did we get deeper in debt?)
and the roads looked wonderful for a while.
The same thing happens shortly before an election; it's feel-good-factor-tarmac.
Remember the Tal-Qroqq Tunnel opening party? That was just the climax
of another tarmac binge just ahead of the 1996 elections. Just five
years ago. Where did it all go? How much did that set us back?
Being cosmetic it did not form part of an ongoing programme of road
improvements with integrated maintenance design. Tarmac was laid
like a new carpet on an old floor. It would last until after the
elections.
There was no need to take heed of the advice of foreign consultants
who had surveyed the road situation and pointed out the need for
better road foundations and such cost-free measures as vehicle loading
restrictions. The experts had told us it would take Lm50 million
to get our roads in order. Probably far too much for the government
to contemplate, so we spent a couple of millions on cosmetics instead.
Who cares if it puts us Lm50 million plus a couple of million away
from having decent roads for real?
The tarmac came and went, the construction industry in particular
continued on its free ride on the taxpayer's back wrecking the roads
with impunity. Roads that had lasted for decades before, now have
a worklife of months thanks to a gutless administration that refuses
to legislate on so obvious a matter.
I will not be the one to complain that we indulge in a better level
of housekeeping for the sake of foreign dignitaries. If the Pope's
visit means new tarmac, let us at least enjoy it for more than just
for a few months.
The squandering of public millions in projects that don't last is
a political and economic crime that should be punished in votes.
Unfortunately our politicians are convinced that they can fool enough
of the people all of the time. Some of us are sick of the squandering,
foreign dignitary or no foreign dignitary.
Dr Vassallo
is Chairperson of 'Alternattiva Demokratika'
The cleaning whitewash
By
Francis Zammit Dimech
The cleaning up and embellishment of arterial and country roads
is an on going process.
Arterial roads are cleaned up regularly by mechanical sweepers contracted
by the Roads Department. The cleaning is carried under the supervision
of the ‘Unit Ghall-Ambjent Nadif' within the Ministry for the
Environment. The ‘Unit Ghall-Ambjent Nadif' also provides a
regular daily picking-up service from Valletta to the Airport, cleans
up the Bus Terminus area outside City Gate. All the tunnels in Malta
are cleaned and washed on a monthly basis. This same unit is also
charged with cleaning valleys and the countryside, with the repair
and maintenance of rainwater culverts and catchment pits, repair
and construction of walls and with minor embellishment works as
are repairs to roundabouts and centre-strips. Last year this unit
cleaned up 670 kilometres of roads and carted away 1,600 trucks
or 6,800 tons of material.
Other units, or departments within the Ministry for the Environment
are also involved in the ongoing facelift process. These include
the Countryside and Country Parks Unit which is charged with the
building and conservation of rubble walls, the maintenance of access
roads and heritage trails and the upkeep of Ta' Qali National Park.
The Manufacturing and Services Department is also involved in the
on going cleaning process. Employees from this department recently
carted over 200 truckloads of debris and litter from Tal Fatah area,
limits of Zabbar.
Four months ago the Malta Embellishment Steering Committee was set
up. This committee meets regularly and formulates action plans for
the cleaning up and embellishment of the island. It also monitors
the action plans with a continuous follow-up. During this short
period this Steering Committee identified a number of refuse dumps
which are now being cleared. These included the clearing up of the
Ghar Hassan and Fort Benghajsa area from over 150 truckloads of
refuse and debris at a cost of over Lm8,000. The Committee is preparing
plans for the embellishment of these sites. This committee is also
in the process of launching an educational campaign in an effort
to keep Malta clean at all times.
The cleaning up of these rubbish dumps will be a waste of energy,
human and financial resources unless these are not accompanied by
enforcement. The Steering Committee is liaising with the Administrative
Law Enforcement Section of the Police Force in an effort to enforce
present laws and regulations regarding littering and dumping. This
campaign is reaping dividends. Between October 2000 and last February,
27 individuals were caught illegally dumping litter and debris in
places, namely Hagar Qim, Siggiewi, Manoel Island and Mellieha.
These were booked by the police and brought to Court.
The times when Malta got a face-lift only when dignitaries visit
our shores are over. We clean up our islands regularly because we
believe in a healthy environment.
Dr Zammit
Dimech is Minister for the Environment
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