Editorial

As from now until the first rains in September, Malta will look at its worst, as it has in fact looked every summer without exception. When Malta should really look at its best, as it is the time when the island attracts the largest number of tourists, the general environment deteriorates sharply, giving a general impression of utter neglect and of a country that is simply incapable of dealing with the task of keeping the environment clean.

This may be a harsh statement but it is the truth. More than the truth, it is, or should be, an indictment of our sheer indifference to our surroundings and of our inability to face facts and get on with what needs to be done.

To be fair, the island has a major handicap when it comes to dealing with the environment. A scorching sun turns every unattended patch of grass to tinder in no time well before spring ends. By the time summer greets the first season's holidaymakers, the countryside looks even more desolate than at any other time of the year, exposing the mounds of rubbish hidden in the tall grass by the waysides, from plastic bottles to bags of rubbish.

True, the flowers planted in a few roundabouts here and there have done much to lift some of the wilted spirits of those who have in vain been longing for a drastic change in the mentality of the people towards their environment. Yet, as has been said so many times before, however much these flowerbeds are welcomed, the country should have first seen to tackling the problem of rubbish and dirt in the country before spending money on planting flowers in roundabouts.

When we have such a tight budget, it would be preferable if the money we have allocated for the environment were to be spent on ongoing work to clean up public places of dirt and rubbish that accumulate at such speed that surprises even people coming from countries that are less developed than Malta. Then, we could move on to other embellishment projects.

Countless calls have been made to the government over the years to give this matter the priority it deserves but it does not seem that those responsible for the environment have as yet woken up to the reality of the situation. To all intents and purposes, it does look as if the government is either blind to the general environmental situation or is absolutely incapable of dealing with it. How else can one explain the sheer neglect so evident in so many public places? Some local councils have managed to make a difference in their locality but the situation in public places insofar as cleanliness goes is generally bad.

Well-organised teams should be detailed to collect rubbish from public places and unbuilt plots on a daily basis. And in the process they should not leave behind the slabs that collect so profusely in corners or by the wayside. Why should it be so difficult to do this? This is one area where the government has failed miserably over the years.

Of course, it goes without saying that there ought to be much greater public cooperation in keeping the environment clean than has been the case so far. But in the glaring absence of a public mentality that considers the environment as its own, the government should take the lead. The government has not taken the right lead so far as shown by the shabby state of the environment today.