• When the first palms affected with the weevil were seen, it was all hands on deck; palms were cut and the remaining bits of trunks wrapped in black plastic on the premise that this would stop further damage to other plants. However, the infestation still obtains. At least three palms in Balluta Bay are seriously damaged and the spoiling appears to be spreading. How soon will it be before the pests make it to all the palms in the area? Why has the Agriculture Department not seen to it to remove the sick trees? Early action would be appreciated.
Scrubbed
• Following the inclusion of the item about the dangerous succulent shrub overhanging a pedestrian pathway along St Andrews Road, Swieqi, it seems it has now been pruned. Pedestrians can finally use the pavement without taking to the road. Unfortunately, it took a public reminder of personal correspondence to the Swieqi local council for action to be taken.
Billed
• Why are people receiving an actual and an estimated water and electricity bill and told they “do not have to” pay it? Why is it that some people receive estimates regularly, whereas others do not even receive actual bills for months on end? Is there nobody at ARMS Limited capable of setting up a system with a water and electricity bill calculator on the internet to make it easier for their customers to check their consumption and the billing for it and to compare it with the form that comes through the post?
Donation?
• A Church school charged candidates applying for a teaching post €10 each. However, when the interviews were over, the school did not even deign inform them the vacancy had been filled, let alone of their placing. This is a dire lack of courtesy.
Gilded
• Golden Bay is the latest squatters’ paradise to be visited by inspectors from the Land Department. The barracks persons had expropriated for their own use will now revert to their original state. One hopes this show of force will inch its way around all the bays and beaches of the island. Only then will the public be satisfied that this is not a stunt to show that something is really being done about people who occupy public land without title.
Discriminatory
• A hare-brained scheme connected with the new and, hopefully, improved public transport system involves having people without a Maltese identity card pay a higher fare. Is this not discrimination? Some foreigners domiciled in Malta do have Maltese identity cards whereas Maltese expatriates do not. This makes the whole issue doubly unfair. It is weird that, whereas an identity card doubles up as a passport within the European Union, this particular issue will make us the laughing stock of Europe.
Conductive
• It is high time that conduct certificates be made available online. With all the fuss that had been made about how each of us ought to acquire an e-ID, one would have thought this procedure would follow as an automatic right. Since it has not, candidates still have to take time off from work or school to obtain it.
Silly
• Why is it that some franchises that sell items used in schools for arts and crafts do not accept smart cards? Students would surely give them more of their custom, if they did, rather than merely turning to them when they do not find what they need in other shops.
Churched
• The Archbishop Street side of the Jesuits’ church in Valletta desperately needs being seen to. Bits of the masonry are flaking off, making this magnificent building look shabby. Paving the streets is patently not enough.
Underground
• There was a short period of time when pedestrians felt happy to use the subways at Floriana because they were relatively clean and odour free. However, the situation has now reverted to the time when people used them as public conveniences and worse. It is indeed a pity that, every day, people are seen crossing against the lights because they cannot be bothered to wait for them to turn green. Moreover, motorists sometimes shoot the red lights, so this makes the problem worse.
Short-sighted
• The bus owners’ association decided to use sick people, their families and friends and students as leverage to obtain the monies owed to them by Transport Malta. This was nothing short of emotional blackmail, which perhaps explains why the ruse worked. One hopes this action will not act as a precedent to other entities also owed money by the state.
Complaints
• It is eye-opening to note that the Malta Environment and Planning Authority receives 30 to 40 complaints from the public every day. The enforcement section reports that each “bad neighbour” report is followed through. However, sometimes it is not the neighbours that are proving to be an annoyance through not adhering to their conditions of lease but people who come from other areas in order to use the amenities – parking spaces, skips or playing fields. What is the redress in these cases where Mepa says it is not able to do anything about them?