More EU funds for environment

My ministry has just received the good news that two proposed projects were accepted by the European Commission to benefit from its Life+ Programme funds for innovative environmental projects. This is the first time in a number of years that Malta succeeded in obtaining such funds and two of the four projects accepted are administered by my ministry. These two projects will amount to an investment of €3.3 million in Malta’s environment, half of this amount being funded by the EU.

One project, on electric cars, is taking place in conjunction with Enemalta, Transport Malta and the Ministry for Gozo. We will purchase 24 vehicles which, following a transparent selection process, will be given to individuals and government departments for a year. We will also install 100 charging points across Malta. During this period, we will evaluate and communicate their experiences to the public to show the viability of electric cars. Such an investment will contribute towards reducing the impact of private transport on climate change.

The other project is an information campaign regarding nitrates in agriculture. The government is committed to reducing the high rate of nitrates in groundwater, which may take up to 40 years. Last year, we launched a draft action plan, which, after a long consultation process, is due to be finalised. Yet, we felt that aside from regulations and enforcement, we also need to inform the public.

We also believe it is important to explain to farmers the impact of nitrates on the environment and the gains to be made, even financially, by reducing the amount of nitrates in soil. This project will therefore serve in assisting farmers to improve their practices and continue providing high-quality products. – July 29

Some things never change

The Labour Party never changes. During the 1970s and 1980s, it resorted physical abuse whereas, nowadays, it opts for moral abuse. One cannot but reach this conclusion following Joseph Muscat’s comments regarding Edgar Galea Curmi and the proceedings against Cyrus Engerer’s father. Despite the fact that Cyrus Engerer had already resigned from the Nationalist Party and called Lawrence Gonzi a “dictator”, the Prime Minister’s head of secretariat met with Cyrus and, in his presence, telephoned the Police Commissioner. Following clarifications by the Police Commissioner, Mr Galea Curmi asked him to phone the lawyer of Cyrus’s father to explain that police investigations were totally unrelated to Cyrus’s resignation from the PN and his move to the Labour Party, as was being alleged by his father’s lawyer.

If nothing else, Mr Galea Curmi tried to help someone, who left the PN to join the PL, to be given a justification and certainly did not try to crucify him. But Dr Muscat called for Mr Galea Curmi’s resignation because he “interfered”. The opposition first spent a day stating the proceedings against Cyrus and his father, on two separate cases, were in retaliation to Cyrus’s resignation from the PN. But then, by the evening, the Leader of the Opposition was asking for Mr Galea Curmi’s resignation because he made a phone call to the Police Commissioner, asking him to explain to Cyrus’s father’s lawyer that the case began before Cyrus resigned from the PN.

The PL’s moral abuse knows no limits. A Labour member of Parliament wrote on Facebook on the same day: “When people without scruples, even with a halo on their heads, run a party that has lost democratic support, yet want to continue clutching to power, they are ready to also use the police to scare and punish those who leave them and try to intimidate people so that they don’t leave them” (translated from Maltese).

This was written by none other than Evarist Bartolo. He is one to talk, ascribing methods practised by his own party when in government. He knows what a party that has lost democratic support is capable of, as was the case with his party between 1981 and 1987. At the time he was part of a regime that used the police against freedom of expression, to torture those who disagreed with the regime, even killing a suspect while being held at the police headquarters. The police were not “guard dogs” but murderers and whoever defended them was an accomplice.

A certain Alan Picco, a Labour councillor in Għaxaq, also commented in agreement with Mr Bartolo’s Facebook post. This surname reminds me of a police officer during the Socialist regime who was involved in the frame-up of Pietru Pawl Busuttil and other cases. During this period, the government did not enjoy the people’s support but Mr Bartolo was in the frontlines defending it. – July 27

Breivik, Lowell and Muscat

The events in Norway last Friday, where 32-year-old extremist Anders Behring Breivik killed 76 people, including 68 youths, highlights the responsibility that politicians bear. It is easy to be populist and fearmonger about multicultural influxes into society. Yet, such rhetoric may create monsters like Mr Breivik, who felt convinced that his actions were to the benefit of Norwegian society.

Mr Breivik apparently visited Malta and, according to MaltaToday, was in contact with Norman Lowell’s party. The same Mr Lowell who, according to a report on The Sunday Times early last May “will instruct his supporters to vote for the Labour Party at the next general election if Joseph Muscat sticks to his promise to take concrete action against African immigrants”. Mr Lowell was quoted as saying that “the Leader of the Opposition is showing recently that his heart is beating in the right place”. The PL should have issued a press release dissociating itself from Mr Lowell’s comments.

Mr Lowell apparently shocked Dr Muscat, yet only because his xenophobic stands resembled those of an extremist rather than somebody who is supposedly progressive and moderate. They that sow the wind, shall reap the whirlwind!

The fact remains that the Leader of the Opposition went so far as to maintain that our country should leave people escaping from Libya stranded in the middle of the sea without assistance from our armed forces. This is yet another example of political immaturity that fuels a policy of hate built on the fear of the unknown. I am not saying that Dr Muscat ever appealed for violence but political responsibility calls for us to be cautious in our choice of words so as not to disseminate xenophobic cultures and attitudes. – July 25

A great sense of community

Last week, Għargħur mayor Mario Gauci and I inaugurated a war shelter that has been cleared and opened to visitors. This beautiful shelter also features models and objects from the war so that the public may get a feel of the way in which people lived there. It is certainly going to be a further attraction for this village, which is very close to my heart.

During World War II, Għargħur gave shelter to a number of people from other localities. The parish priest’s home alone housed no fewer than 35 people at a time, where they built a sizeable oven so as to make bread for themselves and others in the community.

Għargħur appeals to me because it still has a great sense of community, which the local council has done its utmost to cultivate and enhance, also by involving other cultural organisations in the village.

This community spirit has led to certain initiatives over the past couple of years, which my ministry has also contributed to. We assisted in the restoration of the Semaphore Tower and St John’s chapel, the widening of the road leading to the fireworks factory, works were carried out on the parvis balustrades and a ground with synthetic turf was opened a few days ago. These initiatives continue to increase the sense of community and make residents prouder of their home town. – July 22.

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The author is Minister for Resources and Rural Affairs.