Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1488480
THE document about local council reform issued by the PN earlier this week is a breeze of fresh air that goes beyond the petty daily clashes between the PN and the PL. Local Councils were intro- duced by the PN as a means of decentralising power and giving each locality its own right to take decisions that impinge directly on it. At the time, within the PN there were some who did not agree with the idea of the party in power giving up certain re- sponsibilities to local councils, more so in localities where it was obvious that the PN could never hope to gain a majority. Eddie Fenech Adami persisted because decentralisation for him was a political ideology – every deci- sion should be taken at the low- est level of the social structure that is affected by the decision, he argued. The Labour Party was also not so keen about local council. At first it refused to contest lo- cal elections as a party and put across 'independent' candidates that were obviously Labour Par- ty candidates. This had the ter- rible effect of smothering gen- uine independent candidates. When it relented, the Labour local electoral machine proved more effective than that of the PN. Moreover, some PN voters chose not voting for their local council as a message to show their disagreement with what the party was doing on a nation- al level. That is fair in the demo- cratic game, I suppose. In power, the Labour Party, rather than seeking to strength- en the local councils, did the ex- act opposite. Slowly slowly, the central government took many responsibilities back from the lo- cal councils. In roads, for exam- ple, councils were left with lack of funds while Transport Malta practically took over the mainte- nance of roads that theoretically was the responsibility of local councils. Even the local council's control over the gathering of do- mestic waste is being eroded. In other words, it is obvious that the Labour Party is not keen on decentralisation. It prefers the ordinary citizen to go and pester the minister with the most mundane requests be- cause in Labour's mentality, that is where the power lies. The PN document pushes for exactly the opposite of this attitude. Going back to what the local councils were expected to do, the PN document insists that they should have the power to decide and implement things in their locality. On the other hand, the Labour administrations have created an environment in which councils are being constantly by- passed or find their hands tied on crucial decisions that affect their locality. Today the government is consistently chipping away the Councils' responsibilities related to enforcement, planning, waste collection, street cleaning, traffic management, and street light- ing. The PN wants to move in the opposite direction. It wants more responsibilities to be allocated to local government and regional councils. It calls for government to undertake a five-year plan to devolve more responsibilities as well as for strengthening finan- cial backing to these entities. This is the real purpose of de- centralisation of power. The logical argument that it should be possible for 16-year- olds to become mayors is a tricky one and unfortunately, the me- dia has emphasised this point while not giving the rest of the document the attention it de- serves. Before arriving at the conclu- sion of 16-year-olds having a right to become mayors, one should study the civil status of 16-year-olds as it is today. A 16-year-old cannot make a pub- lic contract, for example. Hav- ing 16-year-old mayors would create an anomaly and upset the apple-cart. Unfortunately, I think the PN did not delve into this issue as much as it should. As a result of this matter being given prominence by the media, many will think that this is what the PN reform document is all about. Unfortunately, the issue of the need for reform in the way local councils manage money, is prac- tically ignored by the PN docu- ment that insists that local coun- cils should be given more funds. It seems that the PN document was prepared before the recent study published by the Auditor General that has uncovered too many instances of weak finan- cial control in local councils. Perhaps, the writers of the PN document finished their work before they had the opportunity to peruse the report of the Audi- tor General! Any reform of the local coun- cils' situation cannot ignore this aspect. Local councils have proven to be generally weak in their observance of financial regulations. Surely, one cannot talk of giving them more mon- ey, while ignoring the fact that many of them do not manage their money according to finan- cial regulations. A reform of the local councils involving their powers should al- so include a reform in how they act wherever use of government of funds is involved. Even so, diluting the impor- tance of local councils, so that power remains in the hands of some Minister angling for votes, should not be acceptable. Fusion breakthrough Last Tuesday, US scientists an- nounced that for the first time they have produced more ener- gy in a fusion reaction than was used to produce it, and hailed this achievement as a break- through in nuclear research. Fusion works by pressing hydro- gen atoms into each other with such force that they combine into helium, releasing enormous amounts of energy and heat. Unlike other nuclear reactions, it does not create radioactive waste. Net energy gain – that is, pro- ducing more energy than needed for its production – has been an elusive goal because fusion hap- pens at such high temperatures and pressures that it is incredibly difficult to control. This success will pave the way for advancements in the future of clean power. The US Energy Secretary, Jennifer Granholm, said that fusion ignition is "one of the most impressive scientific feats of the 21st century," adding that the breakthrough "will go down in the history books." Proponents of fusion hope that it could one day offer nearly lim- itless, carbon-free energy and displace fossil fuels and other traditional energy sources. Producing energy that powers homes and factories from fu- sion is still decades away, but re- searchers insist that this week's achievement marked a signifi- cant advance. US President, Joe Biden, de- scribed the breakthrough as a good example of the need to continue to invest in research and development, saying: "Look what's going on from the De- partment of Energy on the nu- clear front. There's a lot of good news on the horizon." 7 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 18 DECEMBER 2022 OPINION Local councils reform Michael Falzon micfal45@gmail.com