Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/216204
26 Letters maltatoday, SUNDAY, 24 NOVEMBER 2013 2013 Send your letters to: The Editor, MaltaToday, MediaToday Ltd. Vjal ir-Rihan, San Gwann SGN 9016 | Fax: (356) 21 385075 E-mail: newsroom@mediatoday.com.mt. Letters to the Editor should be concise. No pen names are accepted. Thorn in the side I am very much in favour for the setting up of the Consultative Council for the South of Malta chaired by Labour MP Silvio Parnis. Needless to say, this is a hard task, for there is much to be done knowing the South of Malta has suffered neglect. One could mention the lack of restoration on historical places, natural reserves and green areas being left abandoned, major and urban roads in need of reconstruction, the air we breathe… the list goes on. But the news of this Consultative Council signals towards a step in the right direction. What made me put pen to paper were the names behind two members chosen for this council. One in particular who could have a flagrant conflict of interest knowing his involvement in a planning application before Valid proof I beg your pardon John Guillaumier. Faith is not a matter of geography, but rather of fact. You must have heard of Christ, who for believers is God. He founded a Church which he promised would last to the end of time. Therefore, His Church exists in the world at the present day. Christ imprinted certain marks on His Church, so that men could always identity it. The Church is clothed in all its attributes. It is visible, one, Catholic, Holy and Apostolic. No Church, therefore can be His Church, unless it possesses all these marks. The Catholic Church alone possesses them: therefore the Catholic Church is the one and only true Church of Christ. The fact that the Church failed to gather into her fold the majority of the human race can be explained quite easily. Just as the command received by Christ from His Father did not imply that all, or even the greater number of those who heard Him, would receive his words, so the command given by Christ implies that His Church will be more successful in her mission that He was in His. In fact, the Apostles were warned that the world would hate them and how! Mention of those three personages who turned to God after their health broke down was superfluous. They seemingly imitated the Roman Emperor Julius who on his deathbed exclaimed the famous line, "You have vanquished me, oh Galilean". They simply shifted their intelligent humanitarian working life in the service of science to religion, though there was no need for them to do so because of their earlier orderly life, unlike the emperor's. It was the most sensible thing to do. The promise by Christ – that His Church would be witness to the end of time – still holds water. The Catholics are increasing by 15 million a year and its members now reach the 1.2 billion mark, despite spasms of persecution and clouds of foreboding. It is indeed visible. Isn't that a tempting invitation… to be one of these countless valiant legionaries? John Azzopardi Zabbar YOUR FIRST CLICK OF THE DAY www.maltatoday.com.mt MEPA to transform Marsascala Bay into a yacht marina by trying to secure the National Swimming Pool and its grounds, including the car park, and have it developed into a 5-star hotel. Not only this, but the same person was behind the serious attempt to eradicate all the trees, most of them protected, in St Anne's Garden with the aim of turning it into a multi storey building with underground car Sometimes I see a funeral cortege passing by. I look at the black hearse with the coffin and corpse inside it and I say to myself: "This man has spent his last day on earth." The notion that a dead man lives beyond the grave originates from J. Cachia Marsascala the innate self-importance of man. Albert Einstein said: "Neither can I believe that the individual survives the death of his body, although feeble souls harbour such thoughts through fear or ridiculous egotism." In his poem 'Aubade', Philip Larkin writes about, 'the sure extinc- tion that we travel to, and shall be lost in always'. 'Not to be here, not to be anywhere – and soon! Nothing more terrible, nothing more true!' John Guillaumier St Julian's The battle to end corruption This year is the 20th year of Transparency International a global civil society organisation leading the fight against corruption. Through more than 90 chapters worldwide and an international secretariat in Berlin, TI raises awareness of the damaging effects of corruption and works with partners in government, business and civil society to develop and implement effective measures to tackle it. Corruption, which TI defines as the abuse of entrusted power for private gain, is a complex phenomenon that affects all societies. Growing public awareness and a better understanding of corruption, supported by TI's research and advocacy, have led to a deeper appreciation of the true scale and scope of the problem. EDITORIAL – November 23, 2003 this newspaper asked us to take a look at mismanagement that reigns supreme at Mater Dei. One simple observation refers to the towering cranes that more often than not stand motionless over the ugly sprawl of concrete and franka at our grand future hospital. The cranes, needless to say, have a daily maintenance and rental tag; the beneficiaries of such payments are not unhappy men. There are other snippets which would make wonderful reporting, namely the clocking by subcontractors of hours of work carried out by phantom workers at Mater Dei when no work was in fact ever carried out. The other extraordinary mention is the apparent 'disappearing act' by so many managerial personnel. Furthermore, we are told from the very reliable professionals who have no axe to grind that the time taken to construct the hospital is inexplicable and points to crass incompetence. cry is that the majority of residents are against such a project. They do not want Marsascala to end up like another Msida or Birgu. Let's hope this thorn in the side will not discourage the other members of the Consultative Council. If needs be, the simplest thing to do is have it pulled out. Certain extinction Beyond the farce The declaration made by President of the Republic Prof. Guido de Marco on whether he will stand as a candidate in the European parliamentary election was beyond farcical. For a moment, it made us forget tomorrow's budget speech and the choice of four candidates for the Labour Party. Malta attempts to move on. One thing that does appear to be moving ahead is Mater Dei Hospital: a project that fails to attract the attention of the media despite the exceptionally large costs involved in maintenance and support. MaltaToday has been approached by a number of professionals who have worked on this project. It takes a foreign eye to paint a true picture of the ongoing works at Mater Dei . The general opinion is that the works have dragged on for far too long. The losers at the end of the day are taxpayers – the Maltese themselves. The individuals who talked to park. The residents were up in arms and managed to dissuade the Marsascala mayor's intention in trying to approve a letter of interest at council level for this insane project. The battle against the marina in Marsascala is about to erupt for as yet no public consultation has been made, and behind their backs the Marsascala council showed signs of approval. The general out- It also gives the impression that the 'Maltese' have no interest in seeing this project through, they told this newspaper. The public and the media have every right to know what is going on. This is not a private project, and all taxpayers should have an interest in what is going on. Skanska, the Swedish company, and the dozens of sub contractors, are being paid by public money – and we have a right to know. The Health Minister will undoubtedly react to this story in his typically calm and charming way. But this is a time for sobriety and focus. The Mater Dei Hospital is the country's largest white elephant. Perhaps it represents the PN administration's way of working out things. That is: coming out with the idea and then kicking bags of money into the private sector with little or no passion to keep deadlines, commitments, standards and quality. Today, many people recognise that corruption encompasses a wide variety of practices, from the local to the global level, with its precise nature varying from country to country, sector to sector and context to context. Whether large or small scale, local or global, the myriad forms of corruption are often closely interlinked and frequently serve to reinforce and perpetuate one another. Corruption is also linked to, and often a driver of, major threats of our time, from organised crime, to human trafficking and illegal trade, to name but a few. Governance gaps combined with the commitment of huge amounts of resources also make corruption a risk in several key social, economic and environ- mental policy areas – from climate change to humanitarian assistance, to poverty reduction and the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. On the positive side, the close relationship between corruption and other issues provides enormous opportunities for collaboration and forming coalitions. For instance, one cannot protect democratic freedom and human rights without addressing corruption. And one cannot end corruption without working towards democratic accountability and respect of human rights. For more information, those interested can send their queries by email on jz@onvol.net. Joseph Zammit Paola