Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1011650
18 maltatoday EXECUTIVE EDITOR Matthew Vella MANAGING EDITOR Saviour Balzan Letters to the Editor, MaltaToday, Vjal ir-Rihan, San Gwann SGN 9016 E-mail: dailynews@mediatoday.com.mt Letters must be concise, no pen names accepted, include full name and address maltatoday | SUNDAY • 5 AUGUST 2018 6 August, 2008 More money for nothing Yet another private company – Mekanika Ltd – has been given red carpet treatment by Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi, MaltaToday can re- veal. Mekanika was allowed to have a maintenance contract it had with private firm Skanska ex- tended after Mater Dei Hospital passed on into government's hands, in exactly the same way that G4S was favoured with its million-euro direct order. Mekanika was engaged by Skanska for the installation, testing and commissioning of me- chanical and electrical systems at the hospital. When the hospital finally passed on to the gov- ernment, the maintenance services contract with Mekanika was extended "in order to maintain continuity of operation", the government said. The value of the contract is €1.8 million for a year, running up to 31 December 2008. And as in the case of the G4S security contract, Mekanika had its services renewed as a continu- ation of the service, but without a public tender being issued – contrary to public procurement laws that require public competitions for con- tracts of over €46,000. And once again, dozens of maintenance work- ers who worked at St Luke's Hospital are still being paid by government without having been transferred to Mater Dei, while a private firm carries out their job. A total of 64 maintenance personnel at St Luke's are being paid just under €1 million a year in salaries. However, they have been retained at the closed hospital, where all wards are clearly shut down and non-operational, except for the Karen Grech rehabilitation ward. The government claims these workers were not transferred to Mater Dei Hospital because they are assigned to the Karen Grech rehabilitation facility – a section inside St Luke's which is being run by the Zammit Clapp hospital operation. The government said these facilities "require ongoing maintenance and support activities." That means that the 64 maintenance workers previously entrusted with the operation of an entire state hospital, are now focused onto just one ward. … The government is paying Group 4 Securitas €489,000 a year to operate the Mater Dei car park. The government, in fact, waived a conces- sionary fee of €326,000 that G4S was supposed to pay every year for operating the car park after Lawrence Gonzi took a decision to halve the hospital parking fees. In addition to the two security contracts, G4S has also won a contract to provide 88 pri- vate clerks and receptionists for Mater Dei at €394,000 a year. MaltaToday 10 years ago Quote of the Week Slime and punishment IT would appear to be a regular annual appoint- ment: with each new summer, the sea at various popular beaches is invariably inundated by a think, white, gooey 'slime' emanating from the various tuna-penning ranches dotted around the Maltese islands. This year was no exception, with various beaches affected, as per usual, by this unpleas- ant environmental menace. Indeed, the problem seems to be aggravating with each passing year. Last week, waterpolo activities had to be can- celled below Żonqor Point in Marsaskala, as an oily sludge polluted the coastline of the seaside locality, which is (or was) a popular bathing spot for locals and tourists alike. And yet, 2018 should have been different from its predecessors, in the sense that 'enforcement action' was supposed to have already been taken to prevent this situation. Two years ago, Environment minister Jose Herrera used aerial photographic evidence to confirm that this oily slime did indeed originate from the tuna penning industry. It was technical- ly unnecessary: as early as 2009, this newspaper carried reports quoting experts who came to the same conclusion. Nonetheless, Herrera's inquiry provided photographic evidence to dispel any doubts which may have lingered. Even earlier, a 2012 study by the Aquaculture Institute of the University of Stirling for the Fish- eries Ministry had likewise traced the slime di- rectly to Malta's tuna-penning ranches... and had recommended, to the government of the day, "the relocation of tuna farms to deeper waters further away from the shore"; as well as "the restriction of feeding of baitfish to tuna cages during onshore wind conditions in the summer tourist season if alternative solutions are not found". The study had further recommended that "a review of the tuna offal disposal should be car- ried out". And yet, six years later, none of these recommendations has been taken on board. Moreover, it would appear that the Environ- ment Ministry's own recommendations, from 2016, have likewise been ignored. As MaltaToday reported at the time: "At the end of a three-hour board meeting, the Planning Authority gave fish farm operators two weeks to reach an agreement with the authorities on how to address the vast illegalities in their farms and to come up with a plan to relocate the farms further offshore… 'If an agreement isn't reached, then the PA will re- serve the right to revoke the permits,' PA chair- man Vince Cassar warned." Needless to add, the tuna farms have not been relocated since then; and no permits have been revoked... though a good deal more than 'two weeks' have elapsed since then. Now, the Environment Ministry has yet again directed the ERA to take action against fish farm operators currently breaking the terms of their permit. In a statement issued on Thursday afternoon, Herrera's ministry said that investigations had been carried out, after a foamy white material, commonly known as sea slime, was reported at various beaches in the south of Malta. "The ministry is in a position to confirm that this was, in the most part, attributable to the tuna industry," the ministry said, adding that both ERA and the Fisheries Department had car- ried out several tests around the tuna cages. "The investigation's conclusions clearly show that various conditions outlined in the permit weren't being respected by fish farm operators," the ministry said. This leaves us to ponder the extraordinary situation, whereby successive administrations of governments (both Labour and PN) have ig- nored or minimised damning conclusions about Malta's tuna trade – or, in the latest instances, promised 'consequences' that never materialised. It would be regrettable to have to conclude that this sector – which admittedly contributes handsomely to Malta's GDP – is 'too big' to be in any way brought to book. This would be unac- ceptable at the best of times; but in this context, where the lack of proper enforcement can be seen to threaten Malta's tourism industry, while causing untold damage to the marine environ- ment – it would be too awful to even contem- plate. The environment minister therefore has a responsibility to see to it that his own words are translated into action. Otherwise, he would be graphically confirming the popular perception, that Malta's institutionalised authorities are only ever 'strong with the weak', while remaining perpetually 'weak with the strong'. The responsibility assumes added significance against the backdrop of a State visit by Prime Minister Joseph Muscat to Japan: where most of Malta's fattened tuna is exported. Surely it should be of concern to Muscat, that this visit coincided with his own environment minister's stark admission that 'fish farm operators needed to abide by the conditions of their permit' and that "it was unacceptable that any condition is not respected". Indeed it is unacceptable; yet it also a situation that Maltese governments have tolerated for far too long. If yet another summer goes by without any action to bring those farms in line with their permit conditions – and above all, if more future summers are ruined by this ongoing, seemingly unsolvable environmental problem – it would be a public admission that the entire country has its priorities clearly muddled. The next step should by now be clear: we have experienced the 'slime', but not the 'punishment'. Now, more than ever, is the time for proper, definitive law-enforcement. Editorial "All those who are still spouting hot air can carry on talking. They can say what they like, and keep on sinking. Now, everyone knows the truth." Michelle Muscat on the aftermath of the Egrant inquiry