Cartoon Today : Cashing in on expected victory

A two-star infrastructure

At the signing of the Suncrest hotel’s management deal with giant Spanish chain, Sol Melia, entrepreneur Angelo Xuereb highlighted some of what the Maltese Islands had to offer and also some of what it lacks.

Somewhere in between, Mr Xuereb diplomatically placed the state of the infrastructure on the island. No one would have blamed him if his diplomacy had been down to his own placing at the time – right next to the tourism minister.

But he is, of course, entitled to his view that improvements can be witnessed in the state of the infrastructure, although much still needs to be done.

Mr Xuereb is, however, lucky in some respects. The Suncrest hotel stands along the Qawra front, which is one of the resort areas that has been upgraded within the past few years – a feather in the cap, many will admit, to the short-lived, ill-fated former Labour government.

But some hoteliers in other areas might question the pace of progress where giving our infrastructure a facelift, or more, is concerned.

Those with establishments in St Julian’s spring to mind immediately.

There have been a number of articles appearing in the press recently slamming businessmen for expecting the government to provide a solution to all their problems.

Some of these have made valid points, in as much as an entrepreneur’s initiatives have to be based on well-thought-out business plans, weighing up costs and viability.

But the government cannot abdicate its role where the state of the island is concerned and hoteliers have a right to be annoyed when their carefully thought-out and considerable investment is put at risk because of factors that are not only outside their control, but are someone else’s responsibility.

Over the past few years, the thrust has been to attract four and five star tourists to Malta, and much investment has been made by entrepreneurs in this sector.

But these tourists have high expectations, both inside and outside their hotel. They might be happy with their beautifully furnished rooms, the hotel’s appetising cuisine and ambience. But sooner or later they have to come out and drive along potholed roads, while admiring the countryside that is blighted by dumped mattresses and fridges.

Of course, it is unrealistic to expect the government to wave a wand and produce a new look for the island overnight. But if the long-term projects are years ahead, these hoteliers deserve at least a facelift to the areas in which they have made their investment.

After all, tourists are paying five-star rates now and have plenty of time to go back home and badmouth our bumpy roads, dirty countryside and overflowing waste bins – even if they are happy with their hotels.

The wisdom of listening

Our animal welfare campaign has produced much food for thought, on both the subject at hand and on the attitude of some of the authorities in general.

The hardworking and dedicated volunteers that we have spoken to during this series all had one gripe in common; none of them felt they had been sufficiently consulted by the authorities about the proposed new animal welfare legislation. Although they have plenty of input they would like to make and many points they want to raise, they maintain there has been no forum in which they could put forward their point of view.

Governments are elected to govern and, if they want to put forward their argument and move ahead, legislatively speaking, nobody can argue that they have won their mandate to do just that.

But listening is also a key to progressing successfully, and can also play an important role in getting re-elected.

Listening to the people and, in particular, listening to NGOs who have an in-depth knowledge of a specialised subject, certainly sounds like a sensible line of action.