Thursday, April 23, 2009

TEMP MIGNUN

L-ambjent ta’ madwarna qiegħed jinbidel: it-temp qiesu xi kultant ‘jiġġennen’.

Illum il-ġurnata il-bidla fil-klima jew kif nafuha ahjar ‘climate change’ saret frażi familjari ma’ kulhadd. Il-gassijiet u dħaħen li t-teknoloġiji tradizjonali jitfgħu fl-arja tagħna jaf dwarhom kulhadd u nafu fejn ser iwassluna.

Malta, bħala pajjiż żgħir, jipproduċi biss persentaġġ żgħir ħafna minn dawn l-gassijiet, imma xorta nhossu l-effet tad-dħaħen li jipproduċi ħaddieħor.

Fuq livell personali kulħadd għandu jagħti sehemu fil-ġlieda kontra l-bidla fil-klima. Min-naħa tagħna individwalment ukoll nistaw naghtu kontribut, affarijiet żgħar: bħal nitfu bozza meta ma hemmx bżonnha, jew ma naħlux ilma u nużaw bozoz li jaħlu inqas.

Apparti dawn il-passi żgħar, li kulħadd jista jieħu, għandna bżonn nieħdu ukoll passi akbar bhala pajjiz.

Il-gvern diġa beda jaħseb f’dan r-rigward u grazzi għal-Ministeru għar-Riżorsi u Affirijiet Rurali u l-Uffiċju tal-Prim Ministru diġa ġie ffurmat progett interministerjali biex jaħdem fuq din it-tema. B’mod kawt u kuxxjenzjuz qegħdin niksbu riżultati tajbin anke fuq livell internazzjonali.

Ma’ dan ma nistawx ninsew proposti dwar produzzjoni ta’ enerġija alternattiva bħal dak ta’ l-imtieħen proposti fuq is-Sikka l-Bajda. B’dawn il-Gvern qiegħed jagħti sinjal ċar li l- bidla fil-klima qegħda fuq quddiem fl-aġenda ta’ pajjizna u li qieghed jsir kulma jista’ jsir biex Malta tilħaq livell sodisfaċenti fi zmien qasir.

Hemm bżonn li Malta tkun magħquda f’vuċi waħda ma’ ‘kor’ ta’ pajjiżi ikbar biex b’hekk leħinha jinstema’ wkoll fil-kamp internazzjonali. L-Unjoni Ewropeja qegħda toffrilna din l-opportunita’ fejn Malta qegħda membru fl-iktar blokk li jinsab fuq quddiem fil-ġlieda ghal ambjent aħjar.

Il-pajjiżi tal-unjoni f’Diċembru 2008 ftehmu fuq pakkett ta’ proposti biex isaħħu l-proċess li bih ser jitnaqqsu mill-arja dawn il-gassijiet li qegħdin jheddu l-ħajja tal-ġenerazjonijiet ta’ warajna. F’dan il-pakkett ġie propost u maqbul unanimament mill-pajjiżi tal-Unjoni Ewropeja, li sal-2020 dawn il-gassijiet iridu jitnaqqsu b’għoxrin fil-mija fuq il-livell li kien ikalkulat ghal-1990.

B’hekk l-UE qegħeda tiftaħ t-triq biex l-ulied tal-Ewropa stess, fosthom uliedna l-Maltin, jkunu jistagħu jikbru b’moħħhom mistrieh li ta’ qabilhom ħasbu fl-ambjent li huma ħa jqattgħu l-aqwa ta’ hajjithom fih.

Biex tagħmel dan l-UE qed toħloq fond apposta biex pajjiżi bħal Malta jkunu jistaw jibbenefikaw u jmexxu l-quddiem proġetti li jzidu l-effiċjenza, inaqqsu d-dipendenza fuq iż-żejt u jħajru aktar proġetti ta’ enerġija alternattiva bħal mir-riħ jew x-xemx.

Ir-rappreżentanti ta’ Malta fil-Parlament Ewropew għandhom jkunu dik il-vuċi soda ta’ dan il-pajjiż fi ħdan l-familja Ewropeja, biex inkunu nistaw naraw pajjiżna dejjem mixi l-quddiem, minkejja d-diffikultajiet kollha u ċ-ċirkostanzi partikolari tiegħu.

Monday, April 20, 2009

Respect for the environment, respect for myself

From the Independent on Sunday 19th April 2009

by Edward Demicoli

Respecting the environment is a matter of self-respect. Our size and lack of resources and, frankly, lack of commitment in the 1970 and 1980s has led to the environmental scene in Malta becoming one that threatens our very well-being.

Since the mid-1990s, consciousness has developed and in the current era organisations such as the Malta Environment and Planning Authority (Mepa) and the various interested NGOs have continued to play their part.We all know however, that we still have quite a way to go.Space management has always been an extra challenging task for islands the size of Sicily let alone for virtual micro-states like Malta. It is a matter of history that it has always been the PN in government that sought to regularise development: the excesses of the 1970s and 1980s when anyone could build anything practically anywhere, which was not that long ago, should never be forgotten.

The creation of the Planning Authority, now Mepa, an organisation that is not universally loved, is evidence, if evidence is needed, of a commitment to at least try to impose a structure and procedure in the planning context.Mepa is in the process of restructuring itself under the direct guidance of the Prime Minister. With certain sections of our media being what they are, and certain vested interests having the influence they have, I am under no illusion that criticism of Mepa will continue and the way it will be changed. Nonetheless, those of us who are not blinded by self-interest but are guided by self-respect will willingly give it a chance.

Waste management, a different but closely related subject, was non-existent up to a few years ago. Anything was dumped in the available sites (even in valleys and by the road side!) with no consideration for toxic gases resulting from mixture of waste, damage to water table, and so on.

Now, however, we can finally speak and not just dream about a zero waste society and a waste management strategy that tackles the vast bulk of waste locally without distress to residents. The days of mattresses and fridges by the roadside should be a thing of the past because the amenities are there. What’s next is all of us being responsible enough to use them.

We now have to consolidate and seek avenues for further developing the waste management situation to be able to tackle also those categories of waste that still need to be exported and/or very expensive processing.Ways have to be found to lessen the strain placed on the shoulders of consumers, although these, at the end of the day, are also producers of waste.

Measures taken are rarely popular when they are introduced and, combined with the natural aversion to change many people have, there will always be those who grumble about further burdens and costs. Nevertheless, it is the government that introduced these changes that was re-elected, evidence that people accept that our living space and our environment is our collective responsibility.

In a wider context, we are currently seeing a public consultation on a document that will give Malta safe foundations for climate change control initiatives. We are aiming to reach targets without increasing burdens or pandering to populist notions of how things should be done but which ignore realities or practicalities.

All in all, I think I’m allowed to dream that my children are going to live in a cleaner and brighter world than the one in which I grew up.

I also believe that I can help make that dream become a reality if I have your trust in the European Parliament elections come June.

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Changing the face of local politics

By Edward Demicoli

The decision by Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi to nominate George Abela as the next President is one that will leave an indelible mark on the political landscape of this country. It is a bold, unprecedented decision that shows that Lawrence Gonzi belongs to that rare breed of politicians that are capable of putting the national interest before the interest of their own party.
Let’s face it, the boldness of the decision is also reflected in the fact that the majority of the people were genuinely surprised by the news. For most, it was a pleasant surprise. I can also understand that for some people, including people that belong to the Nationalist Party, it is not easy to stomach the fact that a Nationalist Prime Minister has taken the initiative to nominate as President, a significant political figure, someone from the opposite camp. Not any someone, but someone who was the Deputy Leader of the Labour Party, a long serving lawyer to the General Workers Union, a consultant to the then Prime Minister Alfred Sant and a person who a few months ago contested the leadership of the Labour Party. In a truly objective leadership contest, George Abela could arguably have been Lawrence Gonzi’s main political opponent today.

There is another equally important side to the Prime Minister’s nomination of George Abela as the next President and that is the fact that Dr Gonzi involved the Leader of the Opposition in the process. Dr Gonzi did not need to do this, he could have nominated anyone without seeking the consensus of Joseph Muscat.

I genuinely believe that George Abela has the right credentials to be an excellent President. He is charismatic, intelligent, astute, experienced and liked. He is a person that can further build on the courageous decision taken by Dr Gonzi to put the national interest first and contribute to a better political climate in the country.

The boldness and vision of Prime Minister Gonzi has been tried and tested. But one cannot reach the same conclusion on Joseph Muscat. It is not a bold move for a Labour leader to accept a proposal by a Nationalist Prime Minister to nominate a former Deputy Leader of the Labour Party for the Presidency. Joseph Muscat’s boldness and vision will be tested if, in the weeks, months and years to come, he will be able to treat national issues in an objective way and stop the tactic, typical of Labour Party leaders, to try and score political goals on national issues and in sensitive cases where Labour shouldn’t be playing games, let alone scoring goals. Joseph Muscat has still to pass this test.

Edward Demicoli is a Nationalist Party candidate for the European Parliament Elections.

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Labouring to deceive

Times of Malta
Saturday, 21st March 2009

Edward Demicoli

After five years of consistent hard work by Maltese diplomats in Brussels, the European Commission has agreed to allow Malta to permanently keep a derogation allowing our country not to charge VAT on food and medicines. This was no easy task.

During our negotiations for entry into the European Union, Malta had worked hard to try and get a derogation from this rule and, at the time, managed to obtain a temporary reprieve until 2010.

When compared to Cyprus's attempt to negotiate the same derogation, this was considered a victory, especially since Cyprus had to accept a shorter period of adjustment and today has introduced VAT on food and medicines. Malta did not.

This little island of 400,000 inhabitants, the smallest in the EU, said no. We continued arguing our case post-membership, we took a stand, we made our point, we showed Europe that we import all our food and medicine, that we have increased costs, that economies of scale work against us. We were relentless in pursuit of our right and we could do this because we believe that we can make a difference.

The Labour Party (PL) does not believe this. It is as simple as that. The PL never believed in Europe and never believed that we can make a success of Europe. Even though today they talk the talk on Europe, they cannot walk the walk because they do not know how.

It is ironic that, while the government was relentlessly pursuing Malta's interest, the PL leader was trying to make us believe that Malta was paying more to Europe, that we are contributing to Europe and not benefiting. In a nutshell, what Joseph Muscat is saying, with just a minimal effort of reading between the lines, is that Europe was a bad idea and that himself, Alfred Sant and Sharon Ellul Bonici were right. We should not have joined as we are contributing more. Dr Muscat is trying to say: "I told you so!"

The truth though is different. Labour is once more labouring to deceive on Europe as it did in the years prior to the referendum.

I remember those years well. It was my task to inform the public on Europe. On the issue of VAT on food and medicines, we had told the public that the government was negotiating on this issue. The PL was scaring everyone into believing that the prices of food and medicines are going to explode because of VAT, that the Sicilians will take our jobs, that we will not have an EU Commissioner, that we will lose our overtime, that the Maltese will never be an official EU language that... the list goes on.

The truth is simple. Dr Muscat was and still is wrong. He was wrong six years ago and he was wrong the other day. He was also wrong 18 months ago when he said that we should wait before joining the euro. His party was wrong when it said we should devalue the lira before joining the eurozone. Wrong, wrong and wrong again. Everyone can see that today because the facts have shown that the PL was, and please allow me to repeat myself once again, wrong.

The sad thing is that Dr Muscat does not accept these facts. Instead of admitting that his calculations on the funds Malta received were off the mark by some €200 million, he had Charles Mangion write an article trying to patch things up and not succeeding at all, one might add. Instead of telling everyone that, had we listened to his advice on Europe and on the euro, we would be so much worse off, all Dr Muscat has to say is that we are now members of the EU and there is nothing more to say. Matter closed, says he.

Well, I beg to differ. On all the important decisions this country had to make, the PL was wrong. It can admit it was wrong and start afresh, a real new beginning. It has to tell us so that next time an important decision is to be taken we can look at the PL's track record and compare it to that of the Nationalist Party.

And therein lies the difference between the two parties. Whenever our Prime Minister was convinced that an alternative course of action was more viable he changed course.
It is the mark of a true leader to recognise one's mistakes and to have the maturity to change tack. In persisting in the error of his and his predecessor's ways, Dr Muscat is showing us he has a long way to go to be considered in the same league.

Mr Demicoli is a Nationalist Party candidate for the European Parliament elections.

Il-ħarsien tal-annimali

Kif il-bniedem iġib ruħu ma' kelb jew qattus hija riflessjoni tas-soċjetà li ngħixu fiha. Kif persuna tħares lejn annimal, kif persuna tittratta annimal, huwa mera ċara tar-ruħ ta' dak il-persuna.

Din il-ġimgħa għadna kemm rajna episodju ieħor li spiċċa fil-media tagħna, episodju li juri biċ-ċar il-mod li ċerti persuni jħossuhom komdi jittrattaw klieb b’mod tal-mistħija. Jien dan l-aġir iqabbadni rabja kbira. Ma nistax nifhem kif hawn nies kapaċi jagħmlu hekk lil annimal daqshekk fidil u leali bħall-kelb. Però sfortunatament dawn in-nies jeżistu.La jeżistu rridu naraw li s-sistema legali tagħna tkun waħda li verament tikkastiga lil dawn in-nies u li verament isservi ta’ deterrent ħalli dawn l-affarijiet ma jsirux aktar. Il-politiċi, il-pulizija u l-qrati għandhom ilkoll ikunu katina waħda sabiex verament nipproteġu annimali li jisfaw vittmi ta' nies bla kuxjenza.

L-Ewropa wkoll għanda x’titgħallem f’dan il-qasam. L-Unjoni Ewropea għandha liġijiet li jipproteġu lill-annimali, imma dawn ġeneralment huma indirizzati lejn annimali tal-irziezet jew annimali li huma wirt komuni Ewropew bħall-għasafar tal-passa. F’dawn l-aħħar għaxar snin kemm ili involut fil-qasam Ewropew kienu ħafna li staqsewni, u bir-raġun, għaliex l-Unjoni Ewropea ma titkellimx fuq il-mod krudili li jinqatel it-toru fi Spanja? Għaliex qatt ma tkellmet fuq il-mod li jitqatta' biċċiet il-volpi meta jkun ikkaċċjat bil-klieb fil-kampanja Ingliża? Ir-raġuni għal dan hija li kull pajjiż għandu l-liġijiet tiegħu però naħseb li wasal iż-żmien li nibdew naħsbu ftit f’qafas ta' liġijiet komuni.Fil-Parlament Ewropew jeżisti digà grupp ta' membri parlamentari minn partiti politiċi differenti li qegħdin jaħdmu għal dan il-għan. Il-European Parliament Intergroup on the Welfare and Conservation of Animals ilu mwaqqaf sa mill-1983. Minħabba n-numru limitat tad-Deputati Maltin fil-Parlament Ewropew, sal-aħħar laqgħa f’Novembru tas-sena l-oħra, ma kien attenda l-ebda Malti f’dan il-grupp. Jien tkun prijorità għalija li nagħti kontribut f’dan il-grupp għax sinċerament nemmen li l-issue tad-drittijiet tal-annimali għandha tingħata ferm aktar importanza.

F’dan il-qasam għad hemm ħafna x’irid isir. L-ewrogrupp għall-annimali huwa l-vuċi għall-għaqdiet li jaħdmu fil-qasam tad-drittijiet tal-annimali. Fil-proposti tagħhom għall-partiti li qegħdin jikkontestaw għall-Parlament Ewropew, dawn qegħdin jagħmlu ħames proposti. Li l-annimali fl-irziezet ikunu miżmuma aħjar, li jonqsu l-esperimenti fuq l-annimali, li tiżdied il-protezzjoni tal-annimali domestiċi u l-pets, li jiġu kkonservati u rrispettati l-fawna u l-flora u li jiġu infurzati l-liġijiet li jeżistu. Dawn il-ħames proposti huma lkoll validi u importanti. Illum il-ġurnata żdied it-traffikar tal-annimali u minkejja li hemm trattati li jħarsu dan, xorta waħda qed issir moħqrija lill-annimali minħabba dan il-kummerċ. Il-mod li qegħdin jiġu mrobbija l-ġriewi tal-klieb għall-bejgħ ukoll għandu jiġi mħares. Irridu naraw li jkun hemm sostenn qawwi ħalli aktar annimali jiġu msewwija. Il-lista ma tispicca qatt!

Irrid nagħlaq billli nfaħħar lil dawk kollha li jagħmlu ħidma voluntarja fl-għaqdiet non-governattivi li jaħdmu fil-qasam tal-ħarsien tal-annimali. Ilkoll kemm aħna għandna obbligu lejn dawn in-nies. Dawn ilhom jaħdmu snin twal sabiex f’pajjiżna l-annimali jiġu trattati aħjar. Wasal iż-żmien li dawn in-nies jiġu megħjuna ħalli l-annimali f’pajjiżna jiġu verament imħarsa kif jixirqilhom. Bdejt dan l-artiklu billi għedt li l-mod kif inħarsu l-annimali tagħna huwa riflessjoni tas-soċjetà. Ejjew inkunu kburin b'dak li naraw f’din ir-riflessjoni.


Edward Demicoli...biex inkompli nservik fl-Ewropa
www.edwarddemicoli.eu