As we near the end of the European Year of Volunteering, the government initiated works to set up a Voluntary Centre in Valletta.

Each decision must be taken in a transparent and public manner- George Pullicino

Yesterday, together with the Parliamentary Secretary for Youth and Sport, Clyde Puli, and the Parliamentary Secretary for Small Business and Land Management, Jason Azzopardi, I announced that this centre will be set up in the former slaughterhouse in Valletta, which has been abandoned and dilapidated for many years, a site between Auberge de Baviere and the Archbishop’s Palace. This was an industrial zone during the times of the Knights and will now be given a new lease of life.

This €1 million project will be given to the Malta Council for the Voluntary Sector, whereby the building will be utilised as syndicate office spaces for voluntary organisations. The lower floor will be dedicated to art and creativity, providing a space for young artists to develop and display their talents.

This project is a show of the government’s appreciation of voluntary workers who dedicate their time and efforts to a variety of social and cultural sectors. It merges the historical heritage of this building with the needs of so many voluntary and non-governmental organisations.

This centre will fill the void that has long been felt within this sector. Voluntary work is a treasure that we should greatly appreciate as it is a symbol of solidarity within society.

This forms part of a string of about 40 restoration, embellishment and regeneration projects that the government is carrying out in Valletta.

While showing journalists around this site, an elderly lady appeared on one of the nearby balconies and began complaining about the state of the building. When I explained to her the plans to inject a new lease of life for this building, she promptly replied: “I hope I live to see it completed!” – December 15.

Updating the Constitution

During yesterday’s annual ceremony to celebrate Republic Day, the President of Malta referred to the need of amendments to the Constitution.

As President George Abela rightly said, although the Constitution has served us well for almost half a century, the time has come for it to be updated.

We first had a Constitution that established our independence and then that of 1974, which established Malta as a Republic. Since 1974, the only amendments made were those related to the electoral system to prevent a repetition of the 1981 electoral results and amendments that refer to the country’s neutrality.

It is positive that both main political parties agree on this matter. Unfortunately, the opposition had decided to stop participating in Parliament’s select committee tasked with discussing constitutional amendments. Actions speak louder than words.

The President put forward three alternatives regarding the way in which this necessary process may come about, which must, in turn, be analysed, decided upon and put into effect. I agree that this should involve both Parliament and civil society.

A Constitution is the soul of any society. Today’s society is completely different to the way it was way back in 1974 when the last major overhaul on our Constitution was carried out. We have a number of monitoring structures over the Executive, such as the Office of the Ombudsman and the Office of the Auditor General. Pluralism is widespread across sectors such as broadcasting and the digital media.

We are an EU member state and a member of the eurozone. Our society is all the more open and multicultural. Yet, as the President stated, the Constitution must remain alive, evolving according to the surrounding environment.

Yesterday we also honoured a number of members of civil society with national awards as a sign of gratitude and acknowledgement for their services to our nation.

I would like to take the opportunity to congratulate all those who were honoured, particularly the young Thomas Cremona, who certainly deserved the double applause he received. Thomas symbolises perseverance and the courage of a person who not only fought cancer but also sought to be of service to others through sport and who, together with other youths, rowed across the Atlantic in record time – December 14.

Satisfaction in Durban

I am extremely satisfied that many of the proposals made by the EU during the UN Climate Change Conference in Durban, South Africa were accepted. The conference was extended by two days to conclude long and extensive negotiations.

This victory is thanks to the perseverance of European Commissioner for Climate Action, Connie Hedegaard, despite opposition by certain countries and blocs.

During the negotiations, the EU insisted that there is need for a long-term agreement that binds every country to contributing to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions to prevent the global average temperature increasing by 2°C.

The EU has maintained that it is ready to continue bearing the obligations that it entered into through the Kyoto Protocol during the period 2013-2020. Yet, in order to do so, other countries, especially those that pollute the most, must also commit to doing their bit.

Today’s declaration, the Durban Platform, holds that, by 2015, an agreement must be reached so that, for the first time, all major carbon polluters will be responsible for reducing greenhouse gases. This agreement will then come into effect in 2020.

Thus, the EU won its principal argument, insisting that it did not make sense that only those countries that are contributing to 15 per cent of CO2 of emissions should be bound. The EU continued to insist that large economies, such as the United States of America, China and India, must also indicate that they are committed to accepting targets.

During this conference, the EU succeeded in receiving the support of the Least Developing Countries, the group of island states (AOSIS) and some other countries so that the road map for implementation was drawn up – December 11.

Sargas – some observations

Energy is the foundation of any economy. The government strives to guarantee the electricity that Malta requires at a price that facilitates a competitive economy.

Various Nationalist-led governments have therefore invested heavily, rather than make second-hand acquisitions, in the generation of electricity. This motivated investment in the extension of the Delimara power station and the high-voltage submarine cable between Malta and Sicily.

We seek technology capable of providing energy at a competitive price and that will reduce our impact on the environment. It is in this spirit that we analyse the proposal put forward by Sargas.

Each decision must be taken in a transparent and public manner. The government will not enter into an agreement with any company that presents a proposal. We don’t fall for door-to-door sales pitches either.

While a public discussion about this technology is taking place, Opposition Leader Joseph Muscat has already endorsed it without carrying out his own research.

I would like to make a number of observations.

Firstly, it is clear that, as we have long maintained with regard to the extension of the Delimara power station, what matters is not what type of fuel is burnt but rather how it is burnt and how the emissions are filtered. The opposition has been critical because the Delimara extension will be burning heavy fuel oil, yet, hypocritically, they now have no objections to the burning of a mixture of oils, coal and waste.

Secondly, while examining the proposal, we should ask: What are the risks of pollution? How will the emissions be captured and transported?

We must remember that there remain a number of questions on the viability of carbon capture and sequestration and the dangers that this presents. We must also keep in mind that Malta is a signatory to the Basel Convention, which stipulates that permission from the receiving country is required beforehand.

Finally, I note that the opposition is easily excited by newly-developed technologies but are quick to scare people against technologies that have been tried, tested and recommended, as they did in the case of the Sant’Antnin waste treatment plant, the thermal treatment facility at Marsa and the proposed wind farm in Baħrija – December 6.

http://georgepullicino.blogspot.com

The author is Minister for Resources and Rural Affairs.