What worried me most about the article by Nationalist MP Charlo Bonnici were the endless inaccuracies and false allegations he made. It also seems to be completely out of sync with his own earlier statements on the same subject both publicly and in Parliament.
His biggest problem seems to be that he has either lost his insider sources of information or else his present informers seem to have chosen to furnish him with the wrong type of fodder.
He claims to have struggled to think when the last public statement was made following the launching of the issues paper on waste. That was in summer 2013 and, since, a formal strategy document has been published and even submitted to the EU way back last January.
It is worrying that, as shadow minister, he seems to be completely unaware of the intensive consultations that our ministry has had on waste-related issues both throughout the formulation of the waste plan and strategy as well as throughout its implementation, as confirmed by the various stakeholders’ meetings held since this ad hoc consultative forum was set up on March 18 this year. Our last meeting was held just a few days ago. No such forum existed under the previous government.
This administration does not publish projects before they are fully defined and ready to go
The various issues he mentioned – commercial waste separation, separation at source, food waste (where the PN is also represented) and pilot projects linked to the introduction of a third bag – are all on top of the agenda of these ongoing discussions.
While, in the past, the former government had only debated waste in the House at my specific request as shadow minister, this time round, last May 27, we held a full plenary debate in Parliament on the waste management plan on my own initiative as minister.
Wasteserv’s biggest challenge since the change in administration took place was not, as he implied, “our failure to hit the ground running” but that of running to ensure that a mismanaged organisation could be put in shape in the earliest time possible.
It is interesting that Bonnici never mentions the lack of preventive maintenance at Wasteserv under the previous administration, just as he ignores the lack of transparency with which it was run. But, then, neither does he mention cost overruns, misallocation of EU funds as well as the shifting of funds from Għallis to the Family Park at the expense of the entire operational set up of the company.
Rather than using it as a parastatal company “to harbour Labourites” there is an ongoing team effort within Wasteserv to ensure that past mistakes are not repeated.
For the first time ever, Wasteserv has its own internal auditor, its own corporate services structure, its own preventive maintenance team and its own plant cleaning team. One cannot dismiss lightly, as Bonnici seems to have done, the previous reports of the Auditor General on the company in successive years, the reports of management non-compliance and obstructionism by an independent audit firm hired under the previous government and the independent reports commissioned under this administration that all testify to the gross mismanagement then prevalent in this entity.
Contrary to what he implied, no Wasteserv employees were ever given the boot. Some resigned, others sought fresh pastures and others still were assigned duties back in the ministries where they belonged to. While there seems to be general consensus that the Marsa incineration plant was defective from its start-up days, Bonnici seems to be the only person who claims that it was a good investment.
Its chronic breakdowns and plant closures will bear me out. Had it not been for the planned autoclave, we would have by now been counting its remaining operational days.
On waste to energy, Bonnici seems to have lost the plot completely. He speaks about a waste-to-energy tender as if this were a contract for a waste-to-energy facility. The tender is for an EU-funded study to determine the best option for Malta.
That past studies were beyond their sell-by date was confirmed by the fact that even the previous administration had sought to secure updated studies but in a tender that was adjudicated literally on election eve in 2013 all bids were disqualified and, thus, the process had to start anew.
As a responsible administration, rather than going for outright incineration, as the previous government had seemed determined to do, we are fully aware of other existing options.
Many countries are exporting waste that has calorific value to places where there is overcapacity of waste to energy facilities.
Therefore, when Bonnici talks about alternative locations, he might as well include Sweden.
This study is necessary because the previous efforts either did not cover all options or else were not up to speed with current technologies. Clearly, this is a first for Malta and we do not have the experience required, hence the EU-funded study.
He remarks about the relatively low remaining life expectancy of the landfill. What he does not say is that this is the result of the previous misguided policies, incompetence and irresponsibility.
The landfill mess this administration inherited is potentially one of the most serious and urgent issues. A basic plan has been formulated to avert catastrophic consequences and is being currently refined and costed.
Unlike the example of the White Rocks under the past government, this administration does not publish projects before they are fully defined and ready to go.
Although he should know, such a mega project as the Malta North Għallis initiative is very much on track, the Gozo operations are being spruced up, the operational and projects structures have been put on a sounder footing and EU funds are being used more judiciously.
It is no easy task to move from a state of mismanagement to one of positive corrective action but that is exactly what the team at Wasteserv is doing, ably abetted by a board of directors that has a long-term vision rather than limiting itself to micro management as was the trend in the past.
Leo Brincat is Minister for Sustainable Development, the Environment and Climate Change.