Editorial 30/06/2002

The VD syndrome

Government’s latest VD fetish has got nothing to do with venereal disease. After months of identifying the lack of communication with the man in the street as being the main source of rising discontent among the electorate, the chiefs in Castille have decided to do something about it. And out comes the Visible Deliverables idea, like a rabbit from a magician’s hat.

Good. We have been saying it all along that unless government’s action programme does not trickle down to the very bottom rungs of society no high-flying EU vision will excite the voting public. Communication is an important aspect of any action programme.

But if the VD policy just stops at the communication level it will only partially achieve the intended aim of exciting the public about government’s achievements.

The Maltese public has had enough of new laws, regulations and authorities. What the public expects now is enforcement. It is useless harping about an improved environment when the public garden in the neighbourhood is a shambles and wardens are less vigorous in enforcing litter regulations than booking traffic misdemeanours. People have had enough of illegal bird hunting that only serves to tarnish Malta’s image abroad. With the summer months coming up people would expect a crackdown on entertainment outlets operating without the necessary permits and unhygenic mobile food kiosks. The list can go on and we are certain that the boys and girls in Castille know of these problems and more.

If the VD policy can deliver on these counts then it would go a long way to do justice to taxpayers, who constantly question whether they are getting value for money from government.

There is no questioning that the VD policy has all the vestiges of a pre-electoral drum call partially instigated by Alfred Sant’s idea to shelve the EU and partnership debates to focus on internal issues.

The man in the street hopes that it will not only be just that. Communicating and delivering should be the mainstays of any government administration at all times.

But the implications of such a policy are deeper than the face-value interpretation they have been given by the Opposition Labour Party.

Each and every EU update report on candidate countries has repeatedly stressed that the prospective EU members should bolster their administrative and enforcement capabilities. In a nutshell the EU was happy with Malta’s progress in bringing its legislation in line with that of the union but was somewhat sceptical about the country’s ability to ensure that the new laws were enforced.

And with the October deadline by which the EU hopes to identify the 10 best-placed countries to join the union, looming high in the background the Maltese government has to do all it can to convince the EU that it is legislatively and administratively ready for membership.

The VD policy could be one way by which government shows its intention to enforce the new EU-compliant laws. At the same time the discerning Maltese public will start seeing tangible benefits of the improved quality of life EU membership should bring about.

We hope that the energy to deliver change would not fizzle out once the election comes and goes.