|
I rarely take to advertisements. However one particular billboard caught my eye as outrageous leg-pulling. Various executions exist, but the message is essentially the same. The wording roughly translates to: “That you may live better! New roads made available to you by cash from EU!”
Whoever cocked it up deserves a lynching.
Firstly, it plays heavily on the ‘native-beggar-attitude’ of former British occupation days. Quite unfortunately, even after 40 years of independence, this trace of lackeyism still lurks in the deep subconscious of several in the administration.
Secondly, it might come as something of a revelation to the powers that be, that the assessment of the quality of life, be it an improvement or a deterioration, is a complex matter and as such, it deserves going far beyond a cursory look on the comforts wrought by the material progress of the age. Had this not been the case, we have to admit that all our forefathers, since mankind fell off the trees in the heart of Africa, many thousands of years ago, have been nothing but a miserable lot.
Furthermore, this stand by the ‘new current’ seriously puts into question, if ever we had, prior to this ultra modern era, a roads department worth its salt. And what, if any, was the actual overall investment in this field in the past two decades, which has been predominately dominated by many an electoral promise to improve?
The billboard advertisement gives the overall impression that all the works undertaken are to the highest standards, employing quality materials and carry a long-term guarantee. It is hoped that, at least in this regard, it is not widely off the mark.
Finally, above all other considerations, in my mind’s eye, I see that the final accent should not be as much on the building of new roads or on the rebuilding of old roads but on the very necessary perseverance and constant care required in their repair and upkeep. Alternatively, even this present colossal upheaval will go to drain!
Ramon Borg-Bartolo
Sliema
|
