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2 maltatoday EXECUTIVE EDITOR Matthew Vella mvella@mediatoday.com.mt 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 • 7 MARCH 2021 It is the role of the press to ask uncomfortable questions Editorial A provocative question by MaltaToday, to the Super- intendent for Public Health this week, raised hackles on social media. It was intended at getting Charmaine Gauci to respond to the feeling out on the street – as well as the informed opinions of the entirety of Malta's main medical and specialist colleges – that the science that informs the public health response to COVID-19 has been overwhelmed by political expedience. In a free democracy, the sacrosanct right to ask ques- tion is the sole weapon in the hands of the free press. Yet, as usual, it was met with the customary barrage of sycophantic responses. It goes without saying that Charmaine Gauci enjoys national respect and prestige, as the guide to the na- tional medical response to COVID; but that alone does not place anyone above even the harshest kind of ques- tioning. Journalism is there to mediate between a public that cannot question the people in authority, and those calling the shots. And journalists are meant to discharge this duty without fear or favour. The press, too, is not above criticism. It is often den- igrated for its standpoints: it can be too close to power at times, or too distant from the public; it is either too liberal, or too detached from daily realities. The risk of internalising the views of those in power – or rationalising political actions as 'realpolitik', even when these are immoral or unethical – is a dangerous position for the press; the same goes when it echoes uninformed, emotive, or desultory viewpoints that sow conspiratorial mistrust of the authority or punch down on defenceless minorities. The journalist often walks a tight-rope between these two poles, armed with some degree of cynicism, and some hope; suspicion as well as cautious optimism; in- tellectual curiosity as well as native wit. But what has happened in Malta, over the last three months, in the battle against COVID-19? Over Christmas, COVID-19 cases were averaging around 120 cases a day. COVID fatigue was setting in, after a lost summer from a misguided loosening of re- strictions: as seen in the infamous Hotel Takeover party, and a resultant spread inside the homes for the elder- ly. December was replete with indications that many continued to flout the emergency regulations, despite consistent warnings by the health authorities. It was evi- dent, then, that after many months of limited social con- tact, there was additional pressure piling up to celebrate with even greater abandon than usual. It takes little to understand, there and then, that the post-Christmas season was destined to bring about a radical increase in cases. It was certainly no time to be lowering our guard. Yet, the rise in cases continued un- abated in the following months, and again throughout the carnival season when Gozo turned into a hideaway for private parties. So far the triumphalism of the arrival of the vaccines – with full credit going to the government and the public health authorities for their timely interventions – was again used to predict light at the end of the tunnel; or business-as-usual, as our country's leaders often remind us. And yet, all top 40 records in COVID daily increases, were registered after January 2021 bar four instances. This week we have seen record-breaking COVID cas- es forcing the government once again into announcing renewed restrictive measures; measures that could have been taken earlier on in a bid to save the next summer for the trickle of tourists that might make their way to our shores. Yes: it was necessary to publicly ask Charmaine Gau- ci, as we would have in any personal interview, whether she should resign to make way for a public health czar who can withstand any political pressure on COVID-19 measures. Such questions are never personal. The role of the public health superintendent is not meant to be turned into a poster-child for the Labour government's COV- ID-19 efforts. The public functionary serves the State, and as such must embody the expectations of that role. Of course, to simply say that science must trump po- litical decisions, at all turns, risks sounding naive. Poli- ticians are there to understand the people's needs, and inform public health authorities of their anxieties after the hardships and sacrifices we have had to endure. Prime Minister Robert Abela's emotive defence of Charmaine Gauci will certainly go down well with the choir he preaches to. Vaccine populism, and his 'team Malta' nationalism, come straight out of the govern- ment's playbook to attempt to portray divergences of political viewpoints as 'unpatriotic'. But nothing should deter the free press from ask- ing the hard questions, even when these are aimed at well-respected decision-makers. Asking uncomfortable questions is a must, a necessity, to elicit equally judi- cious replies from decision-makers. For those in power, fending off such questions, and providing dispassionate replies, should be part of the job. 6 March 2011 White Rocks – negotiating, legal advisers also appointed directly THE minister for education, employment and the family – responsible for sports policy – issued €188,000 in direct orders to two firms for legal and financial assistance in the White Rocks sports village project, in both cases going above the max- imum recommended amounts for direct orders. Auditors KPMG, and Camilleri Preziosi advo- cates, were paid for their assistance on negotia- tions and legal advice respectively, with the White Rocks Holding Co. Ltd, a British real estate and sports business consortium. The firms were identified in a paper laid in parliament listing all the ministry's direct orders, after it had previously refused to divulge the members of the negotiating committee on the White Rocks complex. KPMG was paid €160 an hour for 340 hours from July to December 2010 – a total of €54,708. Camilleri Preziosi were paid €133,930 for the six- month period. The new consortium will be allowed to build 300 residential units alongside a sports complex and rugby stadium, in an area already committed by a development brief that does not allow any real estate. The brief was issued by the Malta Environment and Planning Authority (MEPA) in 1995 and is still in force to this day. But the tenderers of a 1995 development brief for White Rocks had already been refused to develop residential units on the holiday complex. Now, the government is giving that opportunity to a foreign consortium by direct order. The Costa San Andrea consortium had jointly approached Lawrence Gonzi in 2004 to discuss the possibility of adding real estate to the pro- posed hotel complex at White Rocks. But the government stuck to the brief's line that no real estate should be built on the site. After that meeting, the discussions fell through and no approach was made to the bidders to reactivate talks. Consequently, the announcement that White Rocks Holding Co. Ltd, a consortium of British realtors and architects, will now be transferred over 220,000 square metres of land – estimated by some observers at a value of €500 million – in return for a €200 million investment in a sports complex, has surprised the local business com- munity. ... Quote of the Week "Were there instances we could have done better? Yes. But I have no regret that we protected this country on a medical, social and economic level." Prime Minister Robert Abela at a press conference introducing new measures to mitigate rising number of daily COVID-19 cases MaltaToday 10 years ago