Topical noteworthy issues

Ihave written many times about the need of adequate supervision of public gardens. I think that it is a shame that local councils spend huge sums of money on the refurbishment and embellishment of public gardens and then some irresponsible persons cause damage to such things as benches, gazebos, etc. A case in point is the public garden in St Aloysius Square, Birkirkara.

The Birkirkara local council embarked on a project of refurbishing and embellishing this public garden that was inaugurated at the beginning of this year. Several months later, all the benches in this public garden have been vandalised and the gazebos have had to be repaired because of damage inflicted by people with no civic awareness. To add insult to injury, such damage is not attributable to local residents but to groups of youths who frequent the garden and who live in other towns and villages.

Frequent monitoring by local wardens and police patrols or the installation of surveillance cameras would go a long way towards lessening such abuse, which makes the maintenance of public gardens a costly drain of public funds.

Local warden abuse

Having touched on the subject of local wardens, I must say that I was astounded to read in a newspaper report that, since 2006, the Petitions Board has revoked 57 per cent of all the fines issued by local wardens, 9,560 out of 16,854, as well as reducing 303 fines. This is really preoccupying because it means that some local wardens are abusing of their position and causing citizens to lose valuable time in seeking redress for unfair fines imposed upon them.

I would also like to ask whether any disciplinary action is being taken against local wardens who are found guilty of having issued a substantial amount of such unfair fines. Local wardens are carrying out an important role in society and they should be supported by every law-abiding citizen but a minority of them are giving the local warden service a bad name, which is a pity because the majority of local wardens are a credit to the country.

Noise pollution

I cannot understand how we still tolerate the amount of avoidable noise pollution that we have to endure in this country. In Malta, noise has become part and parcel of our everyday life and, to seek silence, one has to resort to going to remote areas of the countryside or seaside. The mobile discos, usually youngsters who turn their car-stereos full-on as they drive through a town or village, even in the small hours of the morning, are still an everyday phenomenon. Such people are oblivious of the discomfort they cause to sick people and tired workers trying to grab a few hours of sleep before getting up for a day's work.

It is also still very common for some irresponsible persons to wash their cars under the windows of other people's homes with the car-stereo turned full-on so that the neighbours are regaled with one or two hours of free music at full blast whether they want to listen to it or not.

The forces of law and order should give more priority to preventing such harassment of citizens by selfish persons.

Cruelty to animals

A friend of mine was recently walking down the street when he saw a man beating a dog. Knowing the person, he had the guts to walk up to him and tell him that he would file a report at the local police station if he did not stop immediately and if he ever saw him beating the dog again.

I am appalled at the stories appearing in the media about horrific cruelty to animals. Why do some people treat these lovable creatures as if they were some kind of expendable form of life to be treated with contempt and even cruelty? Animals are a wonderful part of creation and, as an animal lover, I cannot understand how some human (?) beings can still be so cruel to them.

I am glad to note that the government is raising animal awareness among schoolchildren. Such initiatives should be praised because they are a step in the right direction.

Educational reform

Eliminating streaming from our educational system and other measures aimed at a more inclusive type of educational provision is a progressive educational development as selection in education is leading to a wastage of talent that this small country cannot afford. It is important, however, to make sure that this reform is implemented cautiously and with the full participation of all the stakeholders involved.

With the full participation of parents, educators, students and the public, the dream of many educators of a better education system in Malta could finally become a reality.