Everywhere I go people tell me about the mess created by Minister Leo Brincat when, for no valid reason, he decided to close the Family Park near the Sant’Antnin waste treatment plant. It was such a popular park that it is estimated that as many as 30,000 people visit it every weekend.
I’m saying he closed it down capriciously because in all government statements he himself admits that the levels of sulphur in the air are lower than the maximum acceptable levels in the European Union. The question therefore arises spontaneously: if the sulphur levels were never dangerous, why did he close it down?
The minister engaged three people so that, rather than assuming responsibility and stating what, in reality, made him close down the Marsascala Park, his strange decision could be hidden behind a report. He did this so he could once again waste more time denigrating what he had found. So far, we have not heard a single sentence regarding what he intends to do in future in this sector where we carried out a revolution in spite of his and his companions’ obstructions.
What I ask myself is this: if the three experts knew at the beginning of May that there were “effects” due to sulphur emissions in the air, why did they leave it up to mid-July to close the park? We have to remember that, a week before the park was closed, scouts had a weekend camp there. And if there is danger for people visiting the park, why isn’t there danger for those working in the same plant? There is no need to be a professor to ask such obvious questions.
Above all, it should be said that the problem arose at the beginning of May this year when part of the plant, known as hydroliser, developed a fault. Now I am informed that this should have been repaired within six weeks. So, by mid-June at the very latest, it had to be ready. We are now in mid-August and it still has not been repaired. Why this delay? When will it be ready?
Bear in mind that the place where this park was built used to be a landfill, established in the 1970s and 1980s by a Labour government of which Brincat formed part. We are proud that from a landfill we gave the people a most beautiful park thanks to EU funds, a park that has now been targeted by the government to attempt to put the previous Administration in a bad light.
It is only now that Brincat is concerned about sulphur emission. I would like to remind him that, from 1990 to date, the highest level of sulphur dioxide registered in Malta was in 1998, the last year of a Labour government. From that year, sulphur dioxide emissions decreased by 74 per cent, which rate is better than that of the European Union.
Hannah Smith
Last week’s case of Hannah Smith, the 14-year old who committed suicide after she was cyber-bullied on the website Ask.fm really got me thinking, both as a parent and a politician.
Communications between children and youths on such sites are an everyday occurrence. You can join as a member from the age of 13 by giving an e-mail address and a name and surname. This site, which has become very popular with teenagers, will then let users put comments and questions anonymously to other users. Unfortunately, on this site there is no way to block certain users but one can only report them.
It is not easy to police the internet
Hannah was receiving comments criticising her appearance and encouraging her to commit suicide. Although she used to tell her friend that she wasn’t taking any notice of these comments, in reality she sadly ended up taking her own life.
The day before she died, Hannah wrote: “You think you want to die but in reality you just want to be saved”. An appeal that was ignored. A really tragic story also because last year there was a similar case.
Hannah’s father appealed to the authorities to do much more to regulate such websites. Communication technology has developed but legislation remained outdated.
Although I personally agree that the authorities need to do more to protect the members of the community, on the other hand we have to admit that it’s not easy to police the internet. I think that, at least, sites like these should be obliged to keep a record of the IP addresses of the anonymous users who are commenting in an abusive manner. In this way, it would be possible to take steps against the abusers, known as trolls.
Today more than ever, children and youths need to be better trained in school, especially in personal skills to cope with such websites. I also believe that there is an increased responsibility of parents to monitor what their children are seeing although, in truth, and I am speaking as a parent, it is not so easy to supervise your children when they are in their room.
A story like this should surely send us a message to wake up from our collective sleep and communicate more and better with our children so that we may understand them better and protect them more.
The few prevail
I was contacted by many residents of San Ġwann who expressed their disappointment and disapproval of the fact that the Labour Government decided to shelf the project for a much larger public garden and a new civic centre in the heart of this locality, right in front of the parish church, on a site which, today, is occupied mostly by a bowling pitch.
San Ġwann is an ever-growing locality with a large population of families with young children. This was why we decided to plan this project wth children in mind.
We had been especially careful to maximise the recreational space for families while, at the same time, creating a built volume for community facilities. This was going to be possible by using split levels. In this way, the roof of the civic centre was going to be part of the family recreational space. A project with a similar design was that of the Swieqi civic centre, a project that the present government has finally passed on to the local council, after dragging its feet for five months, after we had completed it!
In preparation for this project in the heart of San Ġwann, we had relocated the bowling pitch and, in fact, just before the election, we had built another facility on an alternative site in San Ġwann itself. Everything was ready so that work could start as soon as the bowling club is relocated to its new premises. The Mepa permit had been issued long ago but it seems that the Labour Government could not bring itself to continue a community project we had prepared.
Some said that this government decided to put the project aside to save money because the administration expenses of the biggest Cabinet ever in our country have now started to be felt. Others said that the decision was taken to please the bowling club, many of whose members are very close to the two ministers elected from the ninth district: Leo Brincat and Manuel Mallia. It is clear that, for these two ministers, the interests of the few come before those of the community.
Yet other people, like me, think it was both reasons together that caused the Labour Government to deny the San Ġwann community this much-needed project.
Whatever the reason, the fact remains that the community of San Ġwann has been shelved. What matters is that, on paper, Malta Tagħna Lkoll (Malta For All)!
http://georgepullicino.blogspot.com
George Pullicino is a Nationalist MP.