A good time to bury bad news from Mepa

Last Thursday evening all eyes were glued to TV sets as viewers tried to figure out which contender in the Labour leadership race had garnered enough votes to head home with the crown. Online newspaper sites were buzzing as readers logged on for updates. The result of that contest is known to all and there will doubtlessly be wall-to-wall coverage of the winning candidate, so I won't add to it.

In the hubbub that surrounded the leadership election, a newsworthy decision found itself pushed down the list of news items. The Malta Environment and Planning Authority board approved 868 residential units in blocks with a maximum of eight storeys at the highest point of Mistra ridge and 11 storeys down.

This was the same project that residents, Alternattiva Demokratika, and NGOs had objected to, citing its horrendous visual impact (take a look at the photomontage and shudder) as well as its effect on traffic congestion. These considerations were shrugged off by the Mepa board in much the same way as a stripper would throw off a G-string, and the permit was issued.

Comments started pouring in from readers who had not been mesmerised by the ballot box coverage over at the Red House. They expressed dismay and asked what "I-will-reform-Mepa" Prime Minister would do about it. Someone asked: "When will things change?" Well, from the way things are going, it doesn't seem like it's going to be any time soon.

What I see is not the flower-power green Gonzi of pre-election days but an outgoing Mepa board which congratulates itself on "containing urban sprawl" (cue for loud guffaws). I see a Mepa board which decides controversial applications on a day when media attention is sure to be diverted elsewhere - reminding me of the British ministerial adviser who thought it would be a good idea to issue bad news hours after the September 11 terrorist attacks.

When a friend e-mailed asking what could be done about the monstrous Mistra high rise just up the road from where Spin Valley disco was going to blast away the peace of the valley, I felt I owed it to her to lay down the facts as plainly as possible. The world of pre-election promises and the world of post-election reality are two entirely different places. In the former you get to hear the pleasing prime ministerial rhetoric. In the latter, you get to see whether those promises were so much pie in the sky. In this case, it's more high rises in the sky.

Finally, the government has done something which has sent all sensible people into paroxysms of delight. It has decided that the Maltasong Board will not be reconstituted and that its responsibilities be transferred to PBS. The board oversees our annual outing to the kitschorama that is the Eurovision Song Contest.

Being a great believer in the "Different strokes for different folks" maxim, I have no objection to our participation in the event if some people find it entertaining. Moreover, I'd say that past contestants such as Domenico Mudugno, Abba, Johnny Logan, and Katrina and the Waves, have contributed more to the sum total of human gaiety than many others. If we manage to produce something on the same lines which people feel happy singing along to, why object?

My annoyance stems from the no longer existent board and the inordinate amount of attention focussed on what is little more than a committee which organises an annual singing jaunt to a foreign country.

Now, I admit that rounding up the disparate singer/s, backing vocals, dancers, hairdressers, nail artists and what-nots may pose something of an organisational headache, but the way the board people went on about it, you'd think they were re-launching Noah's Ark.

Then there is the endless coverage given to what the board members get up to before, during, and after participation in the contest. Some years ago, we were treated to moments of high drama at the airport as Grace Borg of the red talons told the board chairman what she thought of him. The nontroversies spilt over to 2007 with claims and counter-claims galore.

Now Kulħadd has regaled us with one of those scoops which might make it to Page 16 of a British tabloid. We get to see a grainy picture of a white-haired man in a clinch with a blonde girl. This, we are told, is Robert Abela in Belgrade. Perhaps the contest had to vie with the unidentified blonde for his attention? Who knows? Who cares?

More importantly, is any of our tax money funding the trips of these bloated boards? Could the work of this quango be carried out more efficiently and economically? Apparently it can. The PBS board will take care of it from now on, utilising the services of people who already work for PBS. This means that we won't have to fund yet another group of people to go around having kittens just because the Eurovision Song Contest rolls up. Finally, something to be pleased about.

cl.bon@nextgen.net.mt