Blood donation

There is currently an advert on Radju Malta to encourage people to donate blood.

It ends with the words: it’s better to donate it than to spill it on the roads.

Whoever wrote this must think themselves very clever  but this is very insensitive, almost crude.

People who unfortunately spill their blood on the roads, a daily occurrence, do not do so as an option and no amount of blood donation would prevent it; for all we know, they may be donors themselves.

It should be withdrawn.

Joseph Muscat – Attard

Let’s do a good job

A sunken manhole. Photo: Matthew Mirabelli

We are now at last doing something about our roads, drains and water services but, still, our contractors do not know how to lay a manhole cover flat with the road surface, so it does not bang, bang, bang every time a vehicle rides over it.

Is this so hard to perfect? Cannot someone go outside our own borders to see how other countries manage to set their covers properly, if they are unable to do this simple job themselves?

Why must we constantly have to be confronted with these bangs and uneven road surfaces, even after a new surface has been laid?

I was under the impression we had all the modern equipment today.

Gerald Goodwin – Fgura

Construction complaints

We refer to Kevin Hodkin’s short letter ‘Construction cowboys’ (March 1).

The Building and Construction Authority (BCA) regulations are quite clear that all machinery and tools shall be equipped with dust-extraction-and-recovery systems to ensure that dust is not dispersed onto public areas and third-party property.  Such cases as shown in the picture are to be reported immediately to the BCA by either calling on one of these numbers - 2095 5000, 2095 5555 and 8004 9000 - or by sending an e-mail to complaints@bca.org.mt.

It is important that the complainant provides our customer care agents the PA number and/or the street where such alleged breach is occurring.

Jonathan Barbara, head of communications section, Building and Construction Authority, Floriana

Forgotten what love truly is

The story of Adam and Eve is instructive for us on these islands. Both admitted to God that they were at fault but both provided a reason for their behaviour: someone else made them do it.

Evil has a little field day in our society. However, we do not need to reflect or be worried about it because it is not really our fault. In fact, it is all no one’s fault; all do it and we are now more prosperous than ever before.

Slowly, but surely, we are rejecting and ignoring the true God who created us and on whom we depend for our lives  and to whom we shall have to give an account of ourselves. We are embracing gods of silver, gold and euros. These gods hold us as slaves and accept no excuses for mistakes.

We are building a heaven on earth for ourselves and for those who will follow us.

Victor Degabriele, SJ – Mosta