Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1492490
maltatoday | SUNDAY • 27 MARCH 2022 OPINION 3 LETTERS & EDITORIAL maltatoday | SUNDAY • 12 FEBRUARY 2023 Mikiel Galea Letters & Clarifications Absence of Geological Service THE Malta Chamber of Geologists is the National Association of profession- al geologists in Malta. The geologist is the only professional who can offer authoritative information and inter- pret data about geology, ground condi- tions and geological phenomena in our country. We note that the newspapers are mostly reporting seismologists with regards to geological phenomena such as earthquakes and their effect on Malta. Whereas seismologists collect data about earthquakes (assuming the data they present is correct, which was not always the case) it is the geologists who inter- pret that data on the basis of the com- plex geological structures that generate earthquakes. It should be noted that Malta remains the only European country that does not have a national Geological Service (or Geological Survey). The Geological Ser- vice is usually a government agency that consists of geologists and is at the service of the public. One of the remits of a Geological Service (GS) is to provide the public and industry with information about ground conditions and the geohazards associat- ed with high risk areas. Geohazards may be triggered by earthquakes, floods and irresponsible rock excavation which may result in ground instability and cause tragic loss of homes and life as happened in recent years. Effectively, the absence of a Geologi- cal Service in Malta undermines public safety and citizens feel unprotected and uninformed which increases public ap- prehension. Another remit of the GS is to collect data on natural resources, e.g., limestone, hydrocarbons, geothermal energy poten- tial, which are essential for our economy. One cannot help noting Malta's dismal failure to attract hydrocarbon explora- tion companies to its large continental shelf, while remaining the country in Europe most dependent on imported hydrocarbons (oil and gas). Meanwhile, neighbouring countries of Cyprus, Israel, Egypt, Greece and Italy continue to dis- cover new gas fields and increase their domestic gas production. The profession of the geologist is rec- ognised in neighbouring Italy, Spain, and Greece, where geologists are awarded professional warrants by the state on the basis of their contribution to public safety, but surprisingly not in Malta. Whereas we cannot stop earthquakes (climate change and rock excavation to an extent), we can prepare and inform citizens about the safety of the ground (geology) beneath them during an earth- quakes or floods. Please visit our website and do not hesitate to contact us for more informa- tion. Dr Peter Gatt President, Malta Chamber of Geologists Revisiting Condominium Act THE conflicts and problems encoun- tered by residents who live in apartment blocks have to be addressed through a review of the condominium law. A consultation process had been launched way back in February of 2021. A new law was supposed to have been enacted by the end of that year but it was not to be. Society and residen- tial communities continue to rapidly change with time in Malta and condo- minium problems continue to crop up even with the most stupid or trivial of issues. There are layers of disfunction and disaffection to an already problematic environment. And on top of all this, is a large, codified body of condominium law that is supposed to be adhered to, but is largely ignored with impunity by many associations every day. Asso- ciations get away with flaunting and violating the state law simply because they can. There is no "condo police" investigat- ing or ensuring that these associations abide by the law, and the majority of the people affected by the laws are in fact the property owners themselves. This is the irony, given that in-house admin- istrators are also property owners, who may think they benefit from shortcut- ting the legislation that is in place. They are not going to call the authorities on themselves, are they? The one uni- formed party that is adversely affected by these failures is the prospective and uninformed buyer. I have seen some articles of associa- tions governing what owners can and cannot do with their property spanning 70 pages. Disputes over issues such as pets, trash, noises and smells are esca- lating into epic and costly court battles. It is not very healthy for people living in the same community or block to end up in litigation. Perhaps the time has come to consider legislating for compulsory mediation. The condominia boom is not just reshaping our skylines, it is changing how we live. Are we Maltese, long ac- customed to detached houses and back- yards, ready for a world where being a happy condo dweller means accepting that we will have to give up some of our personal freedom and that our neighbours may always be too close for comfort? You have all the obligations of a homeowner and all the obligations of a tenant because condos are really a combination of the two. Two decades into Malta's condo boom, we are only now coming to terms with the fundamental ways the condo is changing how we live. We need to start addressing the downside of shared liv- ing. If we do not get busy and start talk- ing about what the issues are and what are some of the reasonable fixes, then everybody loses. Condo-dwellers want to live the joys of condominium life, not the nightmare of it. Mark Said LL.D Msida