Today I had the occasion to be present for the inauguration by the Prime Minister of the new plant of Farm Fresh Ltd in Gozo. Farm Fresh Ltd is a company which forms part of the Magro Brothers Group of Companies, a major player in the agro-food industry in Malta. Farm Fresh will, in their new plant, produce products such as ricotta and cheeselets, as well as other products made out of milk and derivatives of this product.
Today’s event is an occasion of great satisfaction and ought to make us all proud that a locally owned company is expanding and diversifying its operation. This is the kind of economic activity which creates wealth and workplaces.
It is of great benefit too that this company will be operating in Gozo and thus will carry on contributing to our sister island’s economy notwithstanding the barriers to trade created by its double insularity.
It is of satisfaction to note also that contrary to what the Labour Party had predicted, EU membership did not wipe out the local agro-food industry. This plant actually benefited from EU funding to purchase some of its machinery.
This project is a vindication of the policies by a government who has faith in this country and its people as opposed to others who have no such faith.
Today’s inauguration by the Prime Minister came about thanks to the enterprising and ambitious nature of these Gozitan businessmen coupled with EU funding – two factors which the Opposition denied – September 24.
Dignified and correct conduct
Dignified and correct conduct with high moral standards. These were my first thoughts when like many I was shocked by the resignation of Chris Said on something which has nothing to do with politics. This case happened even before he became a Member of Parliament while he was fulfilling his duties as a lawyer, while giving testimony on whether a court hearing took place in the evening or on the same day in the afternoon. Comments after his resignation were consistent in offering admiration and encouragement. I truly hope that Dr Said will soon return to his position as there is no doubt that the country will benefit from the hard work and capabilities for which he is renowned – September 23.
Should we do away with our faith?
In one of the speeches delivered by Pope Benedict XVI during his visit to the UK he stated that religion, particularly Christianity, is being sidelined.
The Pope pronounced himself on this point during an address to members of Parliament, representatives of civil society and religious leaders in Westminster Hall. He warned his audience that there are people who want to stifle the voice of religion. He raised this subject again during the ceremony at Westminster Abbey, when he appealed to Christians to speak openly of their faith. Many observers interpreted this appeal as a rallying call for religion not to be overshadowed by the secular society which we are living in.
I personally feel that this attitude which leads to religion being sidelined exists to a large extent in the West’s media, including that of our country. There exists a bias against religion in media reporting, which is most vociferous in its attacks against the Catholic Church. There are persons in the media whose mission seems to be that of eliminating all aspects of faith from public life.
The Church would be erring were it to ignore this trend. It is a mistake for the Church to bury its head in the sand and believe that this trend will desist. There is a need for the Church to be better organised to constantly explain its position so that it will, as much as possible, neutralise this threat. The Church ought to also build alliances, with other religions too, including the Islamic religion, to keep the religious dimension present, especially in the media. On the other hand it would be a mistake for the Church to use commentators which exaggerate the nature of this threat. The arguments which need to be put forward need to be based on rationality and not on emotions. In the meantime, all Christians have to do their part and not always await the leaders of the Church to act – September 19.
Youth contributing to Vision 2015
I was struck by the exercise carried out by the PN’s youth movement (MŻPN) to define in further detail, and to provide further proposals to Vision 2015. I was not only impressed by the final result, but also by the process which the youths undertook to obtain the results they did. The MŻPN gathered a group of youth who do not form part of the struture of the party, who after a series of consultative meetings with various stakeholders and experts in this field together compiled a document with a list of 150 concrete proposals. These proposals will help our country focus on seven sectors in which we have a natural vantage point. Together we need to see how best to work on those vantage points so that we will reach an international level of excellence in these sectors. In this way these sectors will offer opportunities and work at a good rate of remuneration.
I attended the presentation of the document Team 2015, which was presented by this group of youths to the Prime Minister. It was praiseworthy to see that these youths, led by Ryan Callus, did separate presentations for each sector. They spoke in a convincing manner and they weren’t shy to criticise or to point out deficiencies. This is what is expected of youth, that they speak their mind. It is clear that the homework was done well. They did not speak on what they simply feel, but quoted statistics and the input from the stakeholders could be sensed in the exercise. The ideas behind Vision 2015 as well as its implementation depend greatly on the input of youth.
I can’t but commend the analysis done on the energy sector. As we saw in the last months, the schemes for the introduction of photovoltaic systems as well as those for solar water heaters and bulbs distributed for free to each family were a success story. I am not saying that we got to where we wish to be or that there isn’t work to be done. However, I state proudly that we are in the right direction and in the near future we will see roofs of public buildings being covered with photovoltaic panels. Thanks to these photovoltaic panels as much energy will be generated as is consumed by 1,500 families – September 16.
http://georgepullicino.blogspot.com
The author is Minister of Resources and Rural Affairs.