Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi declared that he had no difficulty in accepting the opposition’s amendments to his motion for the setting up of a select committee to collect all available information on the presence of ‘black dust’ in the south of Malta. He said he wanted the committee to find the source of black dust and, with the help of experts, to arrive at a scientific and technical solution.
The committee would have two members from either side of the House – Jesmond Mugliett and Franco Debono for the government and Leo Brincat and Joe Mizzi for the opposition. The committee would be chaired by the Speaker.
The motion was introduced by Parliamentary Secretary Mario de Marco, who said that it was obvious that everyone wanted clear and healthy air. It was also obvious that there was a problem regarding the presence of black dust and one needed to track its source and see what could be done about it.
Dr Gonzi said that there was no need to turn the matter into political football. The point of departure was that of arriving at a solution. However, he said he had to react to certain “unfair criticism” on the government’s environment agenda.
Malta’s EU membership meant that it had to necessarily follow EU environmental regulations. The point of departure in this regard was the mountain of coal present in the heart of Marsa and the blackened streets of the town.
The government had invested millions of euros to move forward on environmental issues. This included the Sant’Antnin recycling plant which, through EU funds, addressed one of the country’s major problems, generating as much electrical energy from waste to cater for the needs of 1,700 families.
Excess heat would be used for the swimming pool at the Park of Friendship, saving the foundation €30,000 in annual utility expenses.
Dr Gonzi added that when he went to live in Marsaskala, not far from the recycling plant, there was a large refuse dump. Different governments intervened to transform this dump into a recycling plant.
Malta had the highest density of vehicles in Europe. The government addressed the problem by changing the bus fleet which was causing lots of emissions. Within six months Malta would have a new bus fleet to the highest EU environmental standards making another leap forward on the environment.
The government had taken other measures in various budgets giving incentives to people to buy newer cars. Another government investment was the €150 million investment in the Malta-Sicily electric cable instead of increasing the number of turbines. Dr Gonzi declared that since independence, there had never been a government as the present one that had invested so many millions of euros in the environment. The work of the new select committee was a technical and not a political one. His proposal had been for both sides to nominate two members each under the chairmanship of the Speaker. The government was waiving its right of a majority in the committee because the issue was a scientific one. The government wanted to be transparent and accountable on the matter and wanted to arrive at a solution. The committee would have a budget while it regulated its own proceedings.
He corrected opposition MP Gino Cauchi on operations at the Marsa power station, saying it had to definitely close down by 2012, and after it had a maximum number of hours when it could be used, in case the Delimara power station was temporarily switched off. It was therefore urgent to install the Malta-Sicily cable.
Dr Gonzi also referred to a parliamentary reply he had given on complaints last July. He had drafted the reply which was tabled in Parliament in September days before any new complaints had been made.
The Prime Minister augured that the committee members showed commitment in understanding the problem and arrive at scientific and technical solutions.