The state of institutions

The article by Mepa's director general on the State Of The Environment Report (SOER) 2005 (July 5) reveals not only the dismal state of our environment, but also that of many state-funded institutions in this country.

When institutions begin to fail in a democracy, a new management is called for. However, the present PN government administration believes that the sustenance of democracy simply comes from an unconditional support to the political-appointed upper echelon within institutions as long as these masquerade their autonomy, independence and irreproachable competence when in public.

Labour believes otherwise. We believe that democracy is founded on the individual and his right to a free conscience. Whatever our political opponents sling at us on the subject of democracy, no one can ever accuse Labour of opening windows onto individuals' conscience, as happened with the mediation of the PN in the 1950s and continues to this day. Labour's commitment to democracy can be attested in Parliament where we are trying to avert, as in the rest of the country, a crisis in democracy triggered by an administration disconnected from the real needs and aspirations of the people.

A government and ancillary institutions that are disconnected from the people will end up talking to themselves, rather than to the people.

Referring to the SOER 2005, Godwin Cassar states that the "this time Mepa decided to target the report at policymakers rather than at experts". But we all know that the policymakers are Mepa's top management themselves! Institutions should listen and target the experts, namely those citizens who know more than everyone else about the state of the environment in their own neighbourhood.

Dr Cassar admits that the SOER 2005 report includes data from other institutions and authorities, albeit presented without further checking on the veracity of such data. This is the case with data from the Water Services Corporation's 2004 report, on which Dr Cassar wrongly concludes that the quality of tap water is "more a health than an environmental issue".

Contaminated water remains unquestionably an environmental problem linked to sources of contamination in the environment that ultimately have consequences on health. The SOER report should have included data from other WSC reports that record cyanide, fluoride and other hazardous substances in our tap water. In the case of natural resources and natural hazards, Dr Cassar states that these will be included in the SOER 2008. Such concerns have been reported extensively since the first SOER issued under a Labour administration. The importance given to these concerns is also manifest in the SOLER issued by the European Environment Agency, which consistently includes chapters on resources and hazards in its reports. Why were they left out of Mepa's SOER 2005?

The condition of local limestone resources affects both the construction industry and groundwater resources. This scarce resource should be protected and used wisely but the opposite happened when Mepa decided to classify the rock at Ghallis ta' Gewwa as waste rock. This will facilitate the excavation of this rock to make way for the proposed landfill, while endearing contractors who can purchase good quality rock at the price of waste material. Mepa's decision to underrate this rock was based on a report by Alex Torpiano from the University of Malta, even though this report contradicts his own opinion expressed nearly a decade earlier (in a report issued in 1996) when he formed part of a British team that certified the Ghallis rocks as a national limestone resource.

Prof. Torpiano's certificate that undervalues the rock at Ghallis should itself be underrated and discounted in view of its provenance.

The state of the environment is a mere reflection of the state of Malta's institutions. The environment is itself depraved by litter from those who always place personal interest ahead of the interests of the community. Labour intends to clean up Malta's environment for the benefit of all.

Mr Mizzi is the MLP's main spokesman for infrastructural services.