Tug of war

Opposition Leader Alfred Sant tells us he and his party are in favour of the upgrading of Sant'Antnin recycling plant in Marsascala (October 29). No surprise, given the €16.4 million allocated for such an improvement.

On the other hand, in his article of November 10, Joe Mizzi, the Malta Labour Party's spokesman for infrastructural services, awaits the "blueprints and the environmental impact report in Parliament" before he comments and voices an opinion on this upgrading. Mr Mizzi knows nothing about public consultation. Instead, he seeks ways of accusing the government of a fait accompli by choosing to comment when blueprints are finalised. Surely, Mr Mizzi should know that detailed schemes (or blueprints) will be finalised when consultation is exhausted and permits are issued.

The blueprints should incorporate Mr Mizzi's comments if he has the decency to contribute towards Malta's best interest. Mr Mizzi cannot expect to comment on the blueprints after the country has passed through two years of public consultation leading to the development of these same blueprints. Does he really expect to disrupt the whole process by choosing to add on his much valued representations at such a late hour?

Then we read that Mr Mizzi awaits the environmental impact assessment (EIA) to be tabled in Parliament in order to be able to comment on the findings of this document. About time indeed! When was the tabling of this document requested? Can Mr Mizzi remind us?

It is really sad to hear a politician say he will contribute to a decision-making process only if the EIA has been taken up his garden path. The EIA is a public document, distributed widely on CD to all stakeholders. Yet, Mr Mizzi awaits the document to be delivered to his desk before he dares to contribute for the benefit of the community he pretends to stand up for.

Because of his inability to acquire this public document, Mr Mizzi then picks on one, out of the many environmental issues, that the EIA assesses: water protection. How can a politician feel competent enough to comment on water protection after claiming he has not reviewed the EIA? What sort of politics are we trying to make here?

Presumptuously, on this basis and this basis only, he demands the resignation of a top Mepa official because the proposed Sant'Antnin composting plant is situated within the water protection zone. Why then was Mr Mizzi so jubilant when, in 1997, his Labour government rectified the plant with the eco-pod system (The Times, November 7, 2001)? He should have been jubilant only had he managed to convince his own to relocate the Sant'Antnin plant because he was losing sleep due to the potential risk of water contamination.

Mr Mizzi should have had the decency to watch WasteServ's documentary that was aired on all local television stations except his party's own. Super 1 television refused to air this documentary, even against payment. This is because Labour still fears the fact that empowering people through knowledge is dangerous. This has not been Labour's forte and no wonder politicians, like Mr Mizzi, can then stray and wonder aimlessly when writing in the media to gain political ground!

The censoring of information was also applied to the littering campaign and now Mr Mizzi blames my government and says littering is a consequence of the wealth and economic growth my party managed to proliferate for the benefit of Malta.

Mr Mizzi should know that our people deserve better than such antics!

Mr Mizzi failed to understand the quantum leap being proposed for the existing Sant'Antnin facility. Unlike his own leader, he is still mesmerised by the benefits that this facility will bring, including quality life for the neighbourhood and the employees, improved quality of the end-product and the generation of much-needed energy at this time of crisis in non-renewables.

This is the tug-of-war that is ripping through the Labour Party. One man's acceptance is another man's rejection. In all this, the Maltese citizen is losing out.

Mr Pullicino is Minister For Rural Affairs And The Environment.