• The Coast Road between Għallis Tower and Qalet Marku is pleasant to walk along during the day in winter, indeed more so than in summer. Yet, parts of the pavement are encroached upon by vegetation. The trees and bushes badly need to be pruned. Is this a matter for the ELC, the employees of which sometimes spend time on places that are already reasonably well-kept?
Correspondence
• Melita’s credit control department is a joke. They keep sending final notices to recover equipment when, in fact, the same equipment would have been handed in months before. Besides a number of e-mails indicating the return of the said piece, while suggesting Melita set their house in order, remain unacknowledged. Dealing correctly with clients hardly seems to be the company’s forte. Other clients mention repeated requests for documents that would already have been sent in, too.
Violations
• Yet another case of domestic violence has hit the headlines. It is important to put on the fast track legislating protection for victims from perpetrators, of either gender. Immediate preventative custody will ensure the violence is not repeated, or the victims cowed into retracting statements, before their case comes to court. It is now time to give the police more powers to treat a reported case as urgent solely if the legal conditions for urgency are met.
Sickened
• The press is rife with reports about how patients have to wait before being admitted to a ward at Mater Dei Hospital should there be the need for this. It is obvious to everyone the triage system does not work when most of the patients are down with the same ailment. Perhaps it is time to re-purpose some of the unused space in hospital corridors and wards. Even removable screens would help in the issue of privacy.
Driven
• A part of the manifesto issued by Arriva says that anyone aspiring to be an employee should be smart, safety conscious, motivated, able to deliver great service, responsible, and, last but not least, “timely”. This last adjective has obviously not been used in its British English meaning. However, the fact remains that if each vehicle is tracked through a GPS system, buses would arrive and leave on time without meanderings to pick up lunch from home or diversions from the set route.
Payments
• There are several ways to fix minor areas that have a bearing on the national debt. If people who commit crimes were made to work and compensate victims and if people responsible for traffic accidents would be made to reimburse medical expenses of victims who have to be hospitalised, both concerns would help albeit only in dribs and drabs.
Secured
• After a negative mention in the international press, in connection with an incident at Leonardo da Vinci Airport in Rome, Malta International Airport will be undertaking a range of initiatives to enhance the security services at the airport. Whereas this is not exactly bolting the stable door after the horse has escaped, it does make one think the door is being at least latched. People would feel safer if, apart from the projected upgrading of security equipment, sniffer dogs were seen visibly patrolling the area with their carers.
Sightings
• It is hilarious to see how the issue of whether pornography is, or is not, being screened on channels available in hotel rooms is being handled. All the investigation needed consists of walking into a hotel room, switching on television sets, aiming a remote control at them and pressing numbers consecutively from the one button to the last numbered channel available. This will surely be more accurate, and take up less time, than reports and counter-statements. If the films are available on a to-hire basis, a search warrant will take care of it.
Judgmental
• A recent court judgment was delivered two years after the plaintiff died. This is clearly ridiculous. However, it beats some other judgments, which are still tarrying on after many more years.
Stoned
• This column has often had cause to complain about the dereliction of the magnificent Gothic buildings in the Maria Addolorata cemetery. Now that the bad news about how the Franciscan fathers decided they could no longer administer the chapel therein, the outlook is far worse. Is this building listed in the unofficial compilation of national treasures? So many NGOs and national committees are set up for different purposes, why not this one?
Unique
• One of the topics mentioned during the whirlwind visit of German Chancellor Angela Merkel was how Malta is ideally suited for niche markets. It is interesting to note that, in at least one case, this description would appear to refer to “big” niches rather than little ones where the number of employees is very small. Malta ought to be proud of the fact that self-employed entrepreneurs show initiative and not block them on silly excuses.
Receipts
• So Liquigas refuses to fully refund customers who return their gas cylinders without a receipt. Easygas argued this made it more difficult for customers to switch suppliers. But the Consumer and Competition Department ruled this did stifle competition. Fine, but are consumers expected to keep receipts forever, even if they buy a gas cylinder and, incidentally, do gas distributors always issue receipts to consumers?
onthedot@timesofmalta.com