Botswana and Malta

In response to a feature about Botswana’s success story in London’s The Economist, an Australian correspondent who was working there in 1978 wrote back in the letters columns of July 1: “the president enforced strict measures against corruption. Ministers and government officials all operated for the benefit of the country. There were no parades of large expensive Mercedes to be seen. Ministers were quite often seen running about in their own pick-up trucks. When we sent a couple of cases of beer to the ministry of finance as a Christmas present, they were returned.  We were politely told that this sort of gift was against the government’s regulations.”

A rather different story from Malta’s “success story” where the rot started from the “word go of independence” (Gozo hospital, etc.) and accelerating ever since. I wonder whether our historical revisionists will manage to also blame this on some specific colonisation, as is the current “academic” fashion.

Albert Cilia-Vincenti – Attard

Engaging documentaries

Ġrajjiet Gaudos was a successful series of dramatic and historical documentaries from the island of Gozo. The episodes were aired on TVM News+ last season between April and June.

The documentaries were about a number of true episodes from the past which were either forgotten or not known of before but were recently discovered from documents in the National Archives in the Gozo section. The 13 episodes dealt with stories from the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries about a number of serious unsolved crimes, the lives of certain personages or past traditions from different villages in Gozo.

The series was very popular, especially among Gozitan viewers as they learned about the historiography of their village and traditions which are no longer practised today, such as marriage with the power of attorney. The series gave a number of Gozitan actors an opportunity to appear for the first time on local television. Stories from six localities were collected but I am sure there are more which can be featured from other villages.

I am looking forward to watch season two of these documentaries. I am sure the main sponsors and others will support this initiative and bring to the public other interesting documentaries about Gozitan life from the past.

Well done to the producers, writers, actors and CVC media.

Mario Saliba – Nadur

Abortion law

In her article ‘I felt a chill down my spine’ (July 8), Andrea Dibben blames ‘the conservative groups banding together’ for the Labour government’s capitulation on the abortion law.

She accuses the medical profession and even President George Vella for this.

Strangely, she gave no importance to the stand taken by President Emeritus Marie Louise Coleiro Preca for also holding firm to her Christian principles as a mother. She even had the courage to address the massive protest in Valletta against the original abortion bill.

Anthony Curmi – St Julian’s