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I have absolutely no idea how the politicians at the Mater Dei press tour – Gonzi, Deguara, Fenech and not to forget Clyde Puli – could have possibly mustered a smile.
What is there to smile about? This mega-project is the biggest white elephant in the history of Malta. It is the reason for much of our financial black hole, eclipsing the ills of Malta Drydocks and the pensions time bomb.
It is the largest unsustainable project to be created by the Fenech Adami premiership and continued by the ones who followed him. Worse still, the news that appears not to have been picked by anyone other than Super One of course, is that the hospital may in fact be completed to coincide with Lawrence Gonzi’s birthday, but the migration from St Luke’s is a completely different kettle of fish – thanks to the ‘drive’ of Louis Deguara’s healthy vision.
Finally, it would be opportune to mention that the presence of Clyde Puli at the press tour was not in his capacity as a parliamentarian, but as an employee of the Foundation for Medical Services, which oversees the hospital’s construction. His well paid position as a public relations officer is surely reflected in the bad image Mater Dei has had with the public, the press and all the interested parties. But then what do you expect from someone who is more preoccupied with his constituency than his supposed job responsibility for disseminating information about the status of this white elephant to the general public?
A motorist is booked and given a ticket for not being in control of his car. The man, a 44-year-old experienced driver was chewing… yes, masticating a Bounty chocolate and driving at the same time.
Only days before, I too get fined for allegedly not being in control of my car: I was driving slowly, trying to avoid potholes in St Paul’s Street at 9 am in Naxxar. That very week, I changed two front tyres.
Last week, thousands of motorists endured innumerable punctures and replacement tyres. From the large number of VAT-free tyre services around, repairing tyres must be the next best thing to running a brothel.
If Transport Minister Jesmond Mugliett could be sued, then I am sure he would be spending all his quality time in courts. I am sure it is possible.
So indifferent are politicians to public opinion, they ignore the justified pleas of thousands of citizens who have to live with Mater Dei-type of holes. And if this is not enough to test their nerves, they then have to face the onslaught of wardens.
Jesmond Mugliett obviously has not come up with the idea of placing wardens at craters to warn motorists of impending danger. He simply has other priorities, which I am afraid I cannot mention because I simply do not know what they are.
But in any place on this planet, the man responsible for roads would not be a minister but a senior civil servant who would be working round the clock to get things done.
The reason that nothing of this sort gets done is because the minister does not have the money, zeal and/or inclination to arrange our roads and to maintain their upkeep and secondly because the warden system is only geared by one obsession – to generate money, money, and by the way… money.
And still the PM talks with pride about the CHOGM roads, seemingly oblivious to the fact that the rest of Malta and Gozo is in a bloody mess.
I am not quite sure if Alfred Sant knows how far he wishes to get with this suggested inquiry on the New Year’s eve tragedy. And I am not quite sure who is egging him on. Is he looking for someone to be held responsible?
Then shouldn’t we all just agree that the onus of responsibility rests with the authorities?
What is more outrageous than Dr Sant’s political stand on the issue, is the sudden awakening, albeit weeks later, that the Mediterranean Conference Centre is chaired by none other than Peter Fenech, the erstwhile canvasser of Minister Louis Galea who once again features in this newspaper in the Jumbo Lido scandal… please allow me to call it a scandal because it is nothing but a scandal.
For Peter Fenech, as you will read in this newspaper, owed government over 100K and apart from being pardoned, instead of being listed as someone whom government should not do business with he was instead shown appreciation by being appointed, together with a handsome remuneration, as MCC chairman.
Indeed I cannot recall anyone any more fortunate than Dr Fenech. Which institution misses out on a Lm109,000 rent bill and instead of blacklisting the defaulter appoints him as chair of a conference centre, and forks out public money to pay for his chairmanship?
Equally shocking is the letter I received from Joe Zammit Maempel, the lawyer who for his sins is also a chairman of Malta’s gaming authority – yet another political appointee by the way. Zammit Maempel despatched a warning letter warning not to print any incorrect observations about the MCC tragedy. Unbelievably, Zammit Maempel does not refer to what the inaccuracies are. He wants us to read his mind. If only I could.
It is a simple fact that New Year’s Eve parties have always served as an occasion for people to have that extra drink to celebrate the new year and forget the harsh realities of yesteryear.
Alcohol is the elixir of the Western world. And since we were not born into the other faith we appear to take full advantage of this tolerance factor. Should we be ashamed? I say, no. The culture of these parties has been with us for ages.
Instead of trying to convert Malta into a facsimile of Teheran it would be more useful to take those necessary steps to ensure that the incidents that traditionally accompany such excesses are reduced to a minimum.
I am afraid the responsibility for all this lies with the Home Affairs Minister, who has all the laws at his disposition to bring some normality to the situation. We should have spot checks for drink and driving. Tell me Tonio, when has this last happened? If it has happened, has it taken place equally and fairly across the islands? When has Tonio last picked up the phone and asked the Commissioner, “John, tghid naghmlu breathalyser test?” (John, shall we have a breathalyser test done?)
Instead of doing the sensible thing, the powers appear to be hell bent to act when faced with a crisis. Instead of checking on alcohol levels and clamping down on mad drivers, speed cameras are set up on roads forcing perfectly sober drivers to walk their cars instead of driving them at a reasonable speed.
Tonio probably believes breathalyser tests will kill nightlife. No it will not. It will bring us all to our senses. But first the government he leads needs to do something to liberalise the taxi service to make it affordable for use and to allow us to drink and return home chauffered.
The other aspect is security at parties. This is not the first time a party has been held at the MCC. The narrow ledge and its dangerous precipice have been out there for the last 400 years. The individual or individuals who issued the licence should have ensured that the organisers should have made sure revellers were kept a fair distance away from the ledge.
The other arguments on curbing underage drinking are silly to say the least. They simply allow Ministers to become ayatollahs. The simple truth is that underage kids should not be out after certain hours and that is it – if kids of 14 leave home at 8 pm and return at midnight it is not Tonio Borg’s fault or the bars in Paceville who are to blame but the parents. They are their legal custodians and they should be held responsible.
We should stop blaming the organisers, not because they are a nice bunch, but because they did what is significant for any young capitalist, make a quick buck.
European Green Party secretary general Arnold Cassola thought for a moment that standing for the Italian parliamentary election would endear him closer to the Maltese electorate.
It certainly did not get him any closer to me. Being Italian and Maltese is not exactly a plus in most people’s eyes. What comes first Arnoldo: La Patria or in-Nazzjon?
Instead of trying his luck in Italy, Cassola should have returned to his real home country and got down to campaigning in Malta for Vassallo and his hardworking posse. In my eyes he cannot be taken seriously. He is either an Italian or Maltese politician, he cannot be both.
And if Cassola disappoints me, then Casa does not surprise me. When is a man going to be man? Come on Casa, why the hell are you scared to press the Yes button when it comes to homophobia?
He has abstained on an important European Parliament motion on homophobia, and if it is Ovaltine or Maltova that Casa is in need of for some extra oomph then so be it. We are what we are and not what we are not, Casa.
Simon Busuttil, true to himself and not the social democrat he always avowed he would be, voted against the homophobia motion and is proving beyond any doubt that he is out of synch with most European parliamentarians. The vast majority, 71%, voted for the resolution, 22% against and the Casa stereotypes a miserable 6%.
One parliamentarian told me the other day that most of the MEPs are very concerned to see how their electorate reacts to their voting pattern. So much for the Europe we had hoped for and for the leadership we always prayed for.
A word on the campaign organised by the National Euro Changeover Committee on the Maltese imagery to be used on the ewro, or euro. What a soulless initiative.
The impression I have is that all the folk in the steering committee are urbane townies living in concrete blocks. When Malta changed its coins some 20 years ago, we had the wonderful idea of placing endemic wildlife on the coins, the Blue Rock Thrush (il-Merill), the Maltese Centaury (Widnet il-bahar), the fresh water crab (il-Qobru), the weasel (il-ballottra) and the dolphin fish (il-lampuka). Yes, perhaps it was slightly overboard but looking at the suggestions the NECC has come up with, one notes only man-made representations.
How sad, and how limited!
sbalzan@mediatoday.com.mt
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