Practically there

We're practically there... that's what government propaganda continually drums into our ears. We are getting things done. But is it so?

On the ground, it does not appear to many people that things are happening like what ministers' secretariats proclaim in their press releases. Of course, the people who write the releases that then are printed in the media get well cared for and they try to do their job well. The question is whether what they do their best to project, at the behest of their political masters, is really happening. My own conclusion... based on subjective reactions true, gleaned from people I meet on doorsteps and in sitting rooms, is that no, people feel increasingly at a distance from the reality that the government seeks to project.

Arguably, it is evident that I, coming from the opposition, should come to such a conclusion. To be fair, most of us who have served in opposition know that people can twist arguments and dress complaints up to put in a bad light whoever decides matters in ways they dislike.

However, it is emerging that many people, whom one believed would remain close to the PN machine no matter what happened, now seem to be showing signs of backsliding. They have been too affronted by decisions taken by the Gonzi administration. Some will surely be pacified by the time the next election comes along. They will start writing in the "independent" media or wherever, and will again claim that the PN never does things badly. So be it.

The truth however is that the claim that we are "practically there" is being taken for granted less than ever. The government's delivery is seen to be poor and disjointed, when not inexistent. My own assessment is that part of the reason for this is that, despite the outer show of unity that the PN government and PN propaganda machine dispense, internal rifts between leading decision makers and ministers in the PN camp are generating much paralysis. Projects and decisions depend on too many administrative and political players who are failing to work well together. So things get stymied or they are done poorly.

A prime example of this comes in the environmental field, and not just with regard to that bureaucratic monster, the Malta Planning and Environmental Authority. The latter is widely criticised, I believe with justification, for its unfair practices and slow decision making. But on a wider front, across the environmental sector, despite ongoing government boasting about how well we are doing, the reality is less than satisfactory.

The recent State of the Environment report makes this clear. And it was not only the opposition which highlighted the report's conclusions. Even a leader writer for The Times this week showed a lot of concern.

In my view, on environmental policy we need a plan that sets realistic priorities on a national basis. I reinforced this conclusion during the preparation of Labour's environmental plan endorsed by the January general conference of the party, and during the consultations held in previous weeks with environmental bodies.

More than that, we need flagship environmental projects, set out with clear datelines. Labour has identified five such projects and I made it clear that were Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi and his administration to proceed with them forthwith, they would find the full backing of the opposition. For making this commitment, we were ridiculed by the Prime Minister and his media hacks. But that is at par for the course with regard to how the present administration believes it should carry out its national responsibilities.

For the record, let me list the five environmental projects Labour is committed to, as a token of the practicality and drive that underlie our plan for environmental protection.

First, within six months of a new Labour administration, a reform would be undertaken at Mepa to ensure that all project applications would be given a reasonable and limited time period, according to their size, within which the approval process would have to be finalised.

Also in six months, a new Labour government will have brought to a conclusion the project to build a new hospital incinerator.

In its first year as a government, Labour would establish a project along with local councils and environmental organisations, to protect what remains of our natural environment in the valleys, especially in Gozo and the south of Malta.

Another target priority for Labour in its first six months would be the establishment of a sanctuary for domestic animals.

Six months would also be the target period for the setting up of a system to collect separated waste from households, on the same lines as that used for the collection of bulky refuse. This would be coupled to an educational campaign about waste reduction and separation aimed at all households. Again local councils would be fully involved in the project.

All proposals are realistic and feasible. Besides ridiculing Labour, Dr Gonzi will claim that as far as the proposals are concerned his government is practically there. No wonder the credibility problem of the Gonzi administration is growing.