Investing in your future

Investing in your future. That's what the sticker affixed on each photovoltaic panel installed by Michael Debono Ltd at their premises in Żebbuġ said - all 432 of them! Yesterday morning, I attended the inauguration by the Prime Minister of the largest installation, to date, of photovoltaic panels that will enable the company to generate more than half its annual energy consumption. Thanks to an assistance scheme, launched by the government, through Malta Enterprise, companies like Michael Debono Ltd were able to tap European funds and qualified for refunds of up to half of the total capital outlay.

This sizeable investment by the private sector complements the initiatives being taken by the government to produce clean energy. In recent weeks, a call for expressions of interest was published in order to set up photovoltaic panels covering nearly 70,000 square metres of roof space on public buildings. The private sector is being invited to fund this project, with an investment of about €25 million and will generate the same amount of energy as that consumed annually by 1,500 three-person households.

The government is determined to tap all available resources, namely the sun, the wind and even waste, to produce clean energy for the country. Besides generating more employment opportunities, such projects help the country reach its 10 per cent renewable energy targets by the year 2020.

During the inauguration, a very apt quote by polar explorer Sir Robert Swan caught my eye: "The greatest threat to our planet is the belief that someone else will save it." It so happened that, only the previous week, Chris Ciantar, permanent secretary within my ministry, echoed this very same sentiment.

Chris insisted that policies to try to mitigate the effects of climate change are doomed to fail if we continue harbouring the illusion that it is only the government that needs to change attitude. We must all do our bit for success to be achievable - January 13.

Four-wheeled welfare

On January 1, the animal ambulance pilot project, originally launched on a trial period in the latter part of 2009, was extended indefinitely and the service is being offered round the clock by the Animal Welfare Department. I wish to take the opportunity to publicly thank Noah's Ark that ably operated the service in the initial six-month trial period.

In a matter of just a couple of days from the beginning of this year, 40 cats or dogs have been collected. What is encouraging is that many of these stray animals have already been re-homed and I wish to call on all animal lovers to consider providing a home to a stray cat or a dog if possible. Clearly, the animal ambulance service is very much in demand, both in Malta and in Gozo, where the service is being operated by the Gozo branch of the SPCA.

The sterling work being carried out by the many volunteers in this field, coupled with the untiring efforts of the Animal Welfare Department (now in its second year of operation), is paying off. Here, I wish to reiterate my appreciation to all the employees at the Animal Welfare Department who are serving as veritable role models.

The government's commitment towards animal welfare extends well beyond offering the animal ambulance service. Work is well under way at Ta' Qali on the Animal Welfare Centre that will be completed later on this year. This centre will surely be testament to the fact that the government truly believes and invests in animals' well-being - January 8.

On the Nile

I've just returned from a short family vacation in Egypt. We toured the major landmarks of the ancient Egyptian civilisation - there's so much to see! I had first visited Egypt about 25 years ago with a group of architecture students but at the time I had only been to Cairo. Our starting point was Luxor. The most impressive building there is surely the Temple of Karnak. It is breathtakingly beautiful in all its majesty and perfection. One cannot help but wonder whether there actually is some truth in certain theories that the ancient Egyptians were in touch with some higher alien civilisation! The same goes for Luxor Temple and the tombs of the Pharaohs, constructed in the mountainous terrain of the Valley of the Kings.

From Luxor we took a trip along the Nile river. The panorama left me speechless! I had heard that it was amazing but I was surely not prepared to see anything as diverse and spectacular, especially along Aswan. From Aswan, we travelled towards Abu Simbel where we were able to appreciate two massive temples hewn out of stone. These two temples, created in the 13th century BC on the orders of Ramses II, were originally built on another site. They had risked being submerged in Lake Nasser, due to the construction of the Aswan High Dam built during Gamal Abdul Nasser's Presidency, which, in fact, had ended up flooding much of the Nubian region. So, a salvage operation was undertaken whereby these two magnificent monuments were dismantled, transported and re-assembled on a safer site.

All in all, it was a holiday that I surely won't be forgetting in a hurry! Apart from the sheer size of many of the temples and historical remains, another thing that impressed me was the extent of the investment that was made and is still being made in improving the touristic infrastructure in the country, especially in the main airports. They are all new and compare most favourably with many of the airports of the western world. Egypt may have its fair share of challenges to contend with but it is clearly a country on the move that is maximising its potential - January 6.

Mr Pullicino is Minister of Resources and Rural Affairs.