Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1206972
5 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 2 FEBRUARY 2020 NEWS ZONE 7 April 2020 Birżebbuġa, Kirkop, Mqabba, Qrendi, Safi, Żurrieq, Marsaxlokk ZONE 8 April - June 2020 St. Paul's Bay ZONE 9 June 2020 Qormi, Siġġiewi, Luqa, Żebbuġ, Dingli, Imtarfa, Rabat, Mdina ZONE 10 June - July 2020 St. Julian's, Sliema ZONE 11 July 2020 Naxxar, Għargħur ZONE 12 July - August 2020 Swieqi, Pembroke, Paceville ZONE 13 August 2020 Mosta, Attard, Imġarr ZONE 14 August 2020 Birkirkara, Balzan, Iklin, Lija ZONE 15 August - September 2020 Marsaskala, Fgura UK Residence Status Application Dates Identity Malta Agency will be reaching out to all potential beneficiaries who held a valid residence document on 1 st February 2020. Applicants would need to fill in the form and submit the relevant documents to the Expatriates Unit in Valley Road, Msida on the dates indicated in the letter they will be receiving. It is important to present this letter when applying for the new residence document. Applicants residing in Gozo would need to apply at the eResidence Unit, St Francis Square, Victoria, Gozo. Once the status is confirmed, applicants will be issued with a 10 years residence document. 2 1 ZONE 1 17/02/2020 - 21/02/2020 Msida ZONE 2 24/02/2020 - 28/02/2020 Żejtun, Għaxaq, Gudja, Paola, Santa Luċija, Tarxien GOZO February - August 2020 Fontana, Kerċem 17/02/2020 - 21/02/2020 Żebbuġ, Għarb 24/02/2020 - 28/02/2020 ZONE 3 March 2020 Valletta, Floriana, Ħamrun, Marsa, Pietà, Santa Venera ZONE 4 March 2020 Mellieħa ZONE 5 March - April 2020 Vittoriosa, Senglea, Cospicua, Żabbar, Kalkara, Xgħajra ZONE 6 April 2020 San Ġwann, Ta' Xbiex, Gżira Closer to the date, applicants will be notified by post with the exact submission dates T: +356 2590 4000 W: www.identitymalta.com E: brexit.ima@govmt shortcomings in society, on top of the limited support many students get from home. "In fact, every- day we encounter several cases in which educators have become the sole reliable reference point for their students. Needless to say, this puts a huge amount of addi- tional pressure on the educator in question." "Everyone – students, parents, employees, examination bodies, agencies, the media –think that an educator can act upon all demands made by everyone. The reality is that we need to take stock of these expectations," Bonnici added. The union now awaits the results of a joint study with the education ministry carried out by Prof. Mark Borg, which is expected to analyse the reforms last undertaken by the Labour government over the past seven years. Bonnici even says Maltese teach- ers may be experiencing "reform fatigue" given the very fast pace of change. "Based on day-to-day communi- cation with educators, it is evident that both the system and educa- tors cannot take more. The sys- tem seems to be in transition all the time. We are risking a collec- tive fatigue, which would yield to more educators leaving the system and to an increased resistance to change. This will ultimately cause the system to stall." He said that change was nec- essary for education to reflect changes in the labour market, but this also puts a lot of pressure on authorities to impose changes on schools, which remains "the per- fect vehicle to affect changes and promote initiatives". "I can predict that the early out- comes of the joint study, which is currently being carried out among educators by Prof. Borg, shall in- clude a portrayal of the situation I have described. The test for the new minister Owen Bonnici, how- ever, lies not in the effective com- munication of the outcomes of the said survey but in the implemen- tation of its outcomes. The MUT looks forward to this and will be cooperating fully in the process." Grinning and bearing it: Malta Union of Teachers president Marco Bonnici ALTERNATTIVA Demokra- tika and Partit Demokratiku said the building industry is likely to remain uncontrolled and unbridled at a time when it should be curtailed. "The building industry should be curtailed in order to address overdevelopment and an environmental deficit, which is spiralling out of con- trol. The government should desist from spinning fairy-tales on the environment and land use planning, moving hand in hand in order to attain a mis- construed and imaginary bal- ance," AD chairperson Carmel Cacopardo said. The two parties, which are planning to join forces before the next general election, held a joint press conference yes- terday outside the Planning Authority offices, saying new Prime Minister Robert Abela spelt continuity and would not keep the developers in check. "Abela said good governance is a priority for his government but, in the same breath, he said that he does not want to con- trol the construction industry. Does this mean that develop- ers will continue benefitting from the current free-for-all? A cement plant in San Law- renz Gozo is still operating de- spite an enforcement order by the PA. "The owners of this plant are also allegedly involved in a case of false declarations about a huge development in Qala. These are only two cases of the many we hear about," PD spokesperson, Carmel Axiak, said. AD called for the government to immediately take steps to ensure that the environmental deficit caused in part by the building industry is addressed. The building industry had insisted on subsidies to ad- dress the issue of construction waste, after two quarries at Għar Lapsi and Mqabba uni- laterally increased dumping charges from €8 to €15 per tonne of construction waste. In reaction, the Malta Devel- opers Association lobbied for subsidies and the government had agreed to provide incen- tives to the quarry owners to keep the price stable at €8 per tonne for at least another year and a half. "Unfortunately the govern- ment has a perverted under- standing of the polluter-pays environmental principle. In- stead of ensuring that the con- struction industry cleans up its act and adequately addresses the question of how to deal with waste that it generates, the government is irrespon- sibly using taxpayers' money to subsidise their mess," Ca- copardo said, adding that the building industry could do with a substantial dose of good governance. Don't subsidise construction: PD, AD