Sant barred from Magħtab

Labour leader Alfred Sant and a delegation from his party were yesterday denied access to Magħtab because they did not have a permit from WasteServ to visit the site, the waste management agency said.

Dr Sant said he was on an "investigative" visit to Magħtab to check on government claims that the site was no longer being operated as a dump and that it was being transformed into a garden.

According to the government, 2,100 shrubs and plants were planted there, Dr Sant said.

Pointing to the trucks moving in and out of the site, Dr Sant said these vehicles were ample proof that Magħtab was still operating as a dump.

Later, taking a look at the "garden" from the Coast Road, he remarked that the saplings looked shrivelled and all shrubs and trees planted there had died.

"Promises by the PN government are usually broken after the election. This promise was broken before that," he said.

Labour, Dr Sant promised, would close Magħtab in the shortest time possible without playing games with the people and would rehabilitate it.

He said that although it was a positive thing that gases produced in the dump were being treated, in a project making use of €8.8 million (Lm3.8 million) in EU funds, the wrong image was being transmitted because fumes were still coming out of the dump every day and were ending up in the atmosphere.

The Environment Ministry issued a rebuttal saying most of the trees planted at Magħtab were growing well and the situation was now under control following problems caused by the bad weather in recent days.

The ministry pointed out that the Għallis engineered landfill was next to Magħtab and the trucks Dr Sant referred to were carrying clay that was being used in the building of the engineered landfills.

It said Dr Sant had declined a previous invitation to visit.

Wastserv said the waste management complex is a controlled facility and demands strict authorisation for anybody to enter the site, in order to avoid safety hazards during periods of operation.

"WasteServ has organised Open Days for the public in the recent past and has also coordinated scheduled press activities, always after receiving requests in advance, so as the necessary precautionary measures can be taken, in the interests of safety."

Prior to Magħtab, Dr Sant visited Megabyte at the Mosta Technopark. He said Labour was committed to transforming Malta into an informatics business outsourcing centre because, to date, in spite of the efforts made, the country was still not on the map as a main destination in the sector.

Labour wanted a national consensus on this sector similar to that on financial services.

The party did not merely want to attract new software foreign companies through new strategic alliances. It was also committed to strengthening the local software development industry while creating opportunities for Maltese operators beyond these shores especially in the Maghreb countries.

Labour would sustain the strategic alliances which bonded along the years and strengthen them to give more added value to sectors where the country was still weak, such as research, development and innovation.

At the same time, it would commit itself to enter new strategic alliances with companies coming not only from America or Europe but from third countries which were making a name for themselves in the informatics sector.

Labour would organise training for housewives, single parents, the elderly, disadvantaged children, the unemployed, and people with special needs.

Private training providers and host families would also be given a push since Labour wanted to transform the island into an international informatics training centre.

In a reaction, the Government Investments Ministry said there could never be consensus on information technology as long as the Labour Party continued to be incompetent in this area.

Most of the projects mentioned by Dr Sant were already being implemented by the government, the ministry added.