Monday, 17th March 2008
DCC A and JPO
In a short period of time the MEPA auditor bashed twice the members of Development Control Commission A. He first bashed them because of the permission they gave Caqnu to build a supermarket outside a development area. Now he bashed them for the granting of an outline permit for a disco in Mistra on Natura 2000 scheduled land owned by Jeffrey Pullicono Orlando and rented to others. A certain Ian Sultana applied for the permit.
On both occasions the Prime Minister endorsed the recommendations of the Auditor.
The members of Development Control Commission A resigned en masse after the Caqnu/Safi debacle. The MEPA auditor strongly "censured” them for their decision on the Mistra case but continued saying that he could not recommend any action against them as they had resigned. I tried to find who these gentlemen are. I could not find their names on the different parts of the MEPA website. This could be because they had resigned. But since the DCC is a committee appointed by Government the names of the people who took the decision should be public. They should publicly take responsibility for their decisions. Their identity should not be guarded as if it were the Fatima Secret. They have a duty towards themselves and towards the rest of us to try and justify their decision if they think that they were right and that the Auditor is wrong.
The report of the Auditor says, among many unsavoury things, that the persons sitting on DCC A:
- “are solely responsible for this gross irregularity”
- They failed to abide by the provisions of the Development Planning Act;
- They created a dangerous precedent
- They ignored the provisions of the EU Habitat Directive;
- They ignored the ample warnings they were given about the illegality of their actions
- They ignored the direction given them by the MEPA board not to grant the permit.
The auditor also says that in such cases “accusations of corruption are inevitable and difficult to refute.”
The Auditor’s Report is the first half of the story. Now we await the result of the investigations of the Police Commissioner which were also initiated after a request by the Prime Minister. But those can be pains or pleasures yet to come.
Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando is part of the story. He is the owner. He spoke in such a way that many believed that he did not know what was being proposed for the land he rented. A document signed by the architect who presented the project showed that he knew and a document signed by him showed that he knew more than enough about the project. Last Sunday’s edition of The Sunday Times claims that Pullicino Orlando pestered people at MEPA to grant the permit.
Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando should either give a credible explanation about the political implications and other dimensions of his behaviour or he should squarely face the situation. He should by now know that it is not true that the only way is up. Sometimes the honourable way is out.
One hopes that he is knowledgeable, decent and honourable enough to take the right decision.
No Saints, just fireworks
Four residences once were the homes of four families in Triq Hal id-Dejghf, Naxxar. Now there is just emptiness and debris. The scene would have been impressive were it a film set. It is horrifying as this is real life. The tragedy at Naxxar which was the result of the explosion of illegally stored and manufactured fireworks still scars emotionally all decent men and women of these Islands. It devastates the relatives of the deceased and those who lost their property and their life savings in the process.
It was a tragedy that could have been avoided. It was a tragedy that should have never happened. The irresponsibility of one man and the complicity of those who knew but preferred to say nothing are to blame. What insanity strikes a person to do such a thing as manufacture fireworks and store them in a residential area? How can one be so blind to the dangers he exposes himself, his loved ones and so many others to?
Where there was life now there is death; where there were warm smiles now there are only cold tears. All the pain, shock, trauma and nightmares that many are passing through to-day and will continue to live for the rest of their lives could and should have been avoided. All this for the love of fireworks!
Fireworks are a hobby for some, a passion for others and a business for some. Saints are just the excuse or occasion during which this hobby, passion or business is generally practiced till now. A more secularized society will little by little provide more occasions where one could practice this craft. Tourism will undoubtedly provide several of these occasions as fireworks are part of the product which we can offer as a country.
The manufacture of fireworks is inherently a dangerous task as one is literally playing with fire. There are laws and regulations of sorts when the craft is legally practiced but there is just a jungle when cowboys throw the law book out of the window. But a stricter legislative regime is needed for both the legal and the illegal practice of the craft. We have been saying this for ages. Lack of action over the years has meant dead and maimed people, traumatized individuals and destroyed property. I am not suggesting the abolition of the manufacture of fireworks but the setting up of a stricter legal regime and more enforcement. Much more enforcement, in fact.
Had civil authorities tackled the problem with the same seriousness and toughness that Church authorities tackled abuses during festas then things would have been better. The Church does not have a reputation for quick or tough action. But in the case of festas it proved to be tough if not quick. Parish feasts were cancelled because abuses were committed. Civil authorities should be equally tough.
I have no expertise in the matter so I will not venture with any holistic solutions.
I just make two points.
It seems that manufacturing fireworks and storing explosives illegally in a residential area is a kontravenzjoni which I am told is a minor offence compared to something considered to be a crime. Pardon my legal ignorance, but if this is so then it is nonsensical. I will not go as far as one person wrote, if I recall correctly, in reaction to Georg Sapiano's article (confer The Times of March 14 for the talking point entitled "Chronicle of a tragedy foretold"). This person posted a comment stating that those who manufactured fireworks illegally should be accused of terrorism. But just a kontravenzjoni is the other extreme, isn't it?
Does anyone really think that if - God forbid - a disaster would hit the Lija Fireworks factory the upper secondary school which is near by would be safe? So what are we waiting for?
Have we not had enough funerals?
A health warning on TV sets and computers?
Will we soon have a health warning on TV sets and computers stating that too much use damages your health?
According to a study by academics at Germany's University of Saarbruecken children who spend a lot of time watching television or sitting at the computer have notably weaker posture. An item I read on an Internet site states that this conclusion comes from a nine-year-old programme called Kid Check in which doctors and scientists have been studying children and youths, examining their posture, including back problems such as lordosis, drooping shoulders and bowleggedness.
A staggering 40 per cent of the children and youths surveyed were not able to hold their bodies upright while standing. The report said that they fell into hollow back, the head tipped forward, the shoulders sank and the body tilted clearly to the front or back. These problems were specially pronounced in children who spent a lot of time in front of television or sitting at the computer, the university said.
These children's posture problems were clearly more expressed when they performed the part of the test requiring them to close their eyes. Watching a lot of television and playing a lot of computer games apparently leads to special demands on and training of the visual system, the researchers said. It begins to take a domineering role in regulating the body's posture and movement. The other sensory perceptions for controlling the body are not used and trained enough when a youth sits for a long time in front of a television or computer screen.
Check how much time you and your kids spend in front of a TV set or computer!
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Comments
One understands the spirit that animated her comment. But this is not legally possible. I think that in such cases it is adviseable that the investigations are done as quickly as possible. The MEPA auditor should be commended. It could be that the police investigations, becasue of their very nature, would take longer. The JPO case has many ramifications. Some are political and others are possibly criminal. The case about the political ramifications has been concluded and one expects JPO to take action about it. The other case has not been yet concluded and JPO has the right to be considered innocent untill otherwise proven.
I agree with the comment of Dion Borg and Saviour Grech that the Auditor should investigate other cases decided by the same board.
Needless to say, the (usually) quick to respond PRO, failed to issue any reply..…….
JPO’s case should not detract us from the underlying and greater problem – looking into past decisions and taking indiscriminate rectifying measures should be the least one an do!
1. If the MLP had all this information, why did they sit on it for so long and moreover why did Dr Alfred Sant remain silent when confronted by JPO at PBS?
2. Why did the MLP go to the Police Commissioner after the Prime Minister had done so?
3. Lastly and most importantly, how would have JPO defended himself had Dr Sant spilled the beans in front of him?
I feel that there is more to this story. Only time will tell.
One thing is certain: JPO has a lot of explaining to do. We are all ears