I believe it was the secretary general of the Nationalist Party who just before the 2003 general election pledged that once re-elected his party in government would enhance the environment, paying particular attention to detail.

One detail which seems to elude the attention of all those responsible for safeguarding our environment is the plethora of plywood placards bearing sejjieh u tal-fil, which, for the benefit of non-Maltese readers, advertises decorative rubble wall and stone pointing works. There must be hundreds of these obtrusive placards and if the trend remains unchecked the figure will turn four digit.

This must be the greatest obsession driven and cheapest marketing exercise in the country. As soon as a new road is opened sejjieh u tal-fil signs emerge well before the street furniture and landscaping are in place. A recent example is the new hospital-San Gwann industrial estate stretch where four signs have been put up.

Unfortunately many parts of the island already look like a shanty town. The habit of posting advertising signs wantonly infects that ambience like a virus.

It drives me close to desperation to think that no one in authority seems to bother. They either, excuse the pun, miss the woods for the trees, or they mistakenly believe that environment problems are created by the monsters, forgetting the midgets. The environment is not just Maghtab and Mnajdra. It is also the detail because detail is everywhere.

Politicians and administrators argue that our poor environment is a result of poor culture. They lament, among other things, that it is nigh impossible to track the culprits who litter the countryside by dumping white goods in the darkness of the night. But then does it need any clever sleuthing when the person littering Malta with sejjieh u tal-fil signs is so easily traceable thanks to his telephone number posted all over the island?

Does the problem bother the minister responsible for the environment or anyone from the 400-strong complement of the Malta Environment and Planning Authority for which he is responsible? It appears that Mepa are only bothered if someone formally applies to do something. A submission for a shop sign is likely to be rejected the first or even the second time around for technicalities like size, colour, material and protrusion from the building. This happens even when things are planned professionally at great expense. But if someone else unilaterally decides to nail askew and aslant pieces of scrap material to anything anywhere to one's heart's delight, one will go unnoticed. In this country it is more likely to have it your way if you are ignorant and arrogant rather than compliant and prudent.

Shabby posters do not seem to bother successive Enemalta chairmen or the managers responsible for the street lighting poles from which many of the items hang. Not only do they lack a sense of belonging for the environment but also a lack of belonging and protection for the equipment in their trust. Did anyone ever instruct the employees or subcontractors to remove any posters hanging from the poles at least when servicing them? I very much doubt it.

It does not annoy the Commissioner of Police or the Director of Traffic that some adverts are propped up along with road direction signs confusing motorists, especially tourists, who have to make quick decisions while driving along.

Why does it not bother the town and village mayors and councillors whose localities would be more pleasant without bits and pieces here and there and everywhere?

It certainly does not seem to bother the Prime Minister as it did not bother his predecessor or the one before him, now in opposition, to be fair to all. One might argue that prime ministers do not have time for trivia even if they have plenty of time to make repeated statements that all would be fine with the environment one day. Even if the rest of the population thinks that until that promised day or more appropriately that promised land comes, matters are perpetually getting worse.

Why doesn't our Prime Minister, even if it is in a fit of rage a la Mintoff, order somebody to take action immediately when he notices that something is amiss? Would that be a manifestation of good leadership?

Who should have the eye for detail? Whose responsibility is it to put it right? Someday. I wonder. I really wonder.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.