Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/349229
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 20 JULY 2014 24 Letters 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. The proposed eco-tax risks break- ing apart the carefully built up working relationship between the government and the social partners. The proposed legislation arrived at after little meaning- ful consultation and hurriedly presented in parliament prior to the long awaited summer recess smacks of a government in a panic to plug the financial deficit. The taxes piloted by Ministers Pullicino and Fenech will add a further burden on businesses and consumers alike. This comes at a time of increased economic uncertainty. The Fenech Adami administra- tion had, to its credit, built up a working relationship with both the employer organisations and the employee unions. It man- aged over a period of time to keep union claims to a reasonable level and lost days from industrial ac- tion did not run at an alarming rate. Although often accused of buying industrial peace - there were many occasions at which the Government refused to bite the proverbial bullet with all the add- ed costs and increased deficit this has brought about - there can be little doubt that slowly a culture of give and take was building up with mutual trust being nurtured. This culminated in the positive setting up of the MCESD and MEUSAC, the Malta EU steering action com- mittee. All this progress set the ground- work for the possibility of a social pact being proposed with all the general benefits this would create to long term industrial peace and economic growth. The question must now be raised: Does all this good work risk flying with the wind? One can well understand that Government, having rightfully placed lowering the deficit as its topmost priority, is thinking of all ways possible to raise rev- enue. However, raising taxation simultaneously with cutting costs can deflate the economy with all the consequences this can have on living standards. Whatever name Government labels the eco taxes - whether as a contribution or as an aid to the environment - the fact remains that here we are talking of a tax at a time when the economy simply cannot take the imposition of any further tax hikes. The result is that most, if not all, of the con- sumer items are likely to go up in price and this will inevitably raise the cost of living. At this moment in time Government should be do- ing everything but raising taxes. … There is the danger that the working relationship between gov- ernment and the social partners is at a knife's edge. We have indeed reached a critical point. This is all the more worrying since it is only Government together with the social partners who can turn things round for Malta's economy. No one can do it all on its own, more so when the Opposition party has strategically decided to play a spectator role hoping that all collapses on the Government's head. The situation is so serious that it requires men of vision and char- acter to achieve and to cement the much needed social pact. This hurried piece of legislation simply makes the possibility of achiev- ing a social pact as more remote. We feel that in the Government benches there is a lack of govern- ing culture, a lack of knowledge on just what is expected of people in Government. It is becom- ing more obvious daily that the Government is in office, but is not Governing. It needs to listen to the advice of the civil service, but to decide independently of their advice. Thatcher always made her mantra that civil servants advise, but Gov- ernment decides. The government must not be civil service driven. It must be its own man. Listening to public statements even from the Prime Minister only two days ago he seemed uncertain whether he was going to implement the legis- lation or to postpone it. He simply dilly-dallied. This uncertainty depicts a lack of decisiveness to move ahead and to get going. Many a time the Prime Minister has been accused of indecisiveness, but if there is one political trait there was always agreement on is that Lawrence Gonzi's Government would be a Government by consensus. Regrettably even this positive characteristic - heavily advertised in the PN leadership campaign - of Lawrence Gonzi is evaporating fast. This proposed legislation is anything but an exercise in consensual government. He is best advised to go back to the drawing board and redraft the legislation. He most especially cannot afford to break the social harmony that is essential for economic stability in the years to come. The whole house could come down Editorial • July 25 2004 Contracts for Malta Enterprise I refer to the article that appeared in the newspaper MaltaToday (8 June, "Salary details of Gonzi aide tabled in Parliament"), where af- ter giving details of the earnings to Alan Camilleri between 2006 and 2008, you also mentioned that under the chairmanship at Malta Enterprise there were some companies that were awarded direct orders for the refurbish- ments of the institute for health care at Gwardamangia to relocate Malta Enterprise offices. Amongst these companies, Schranz Ltd was mentioned as being one of these named compa- nies that was granted a direct or- der by Malta Enterprise to carry out the structural works. We categorically deny this allegation and also detach the in- volvement of Schranz Ltd in any matter between Alan Camilleri and MaltaToday. It appears that you have either been misin- formed or that the actual facts have been distorted. Schranz Ltd has neither participated in any direct orders from Malta Enterprise nor from any other governmental body. The only two contracts of work that were carried out by Schranz Ltd for public entities since its formation as a company 14 years ago, were Smart Cit y Malta and Malta Enterprise, which were awarded to Schranz Ltd after the submission of formal tenders for works, in competition with other major contractors. We reiterate that the allegation of a direct order being given to Schranz Ltd is not true and that the contract was awarded to us through a competitive tender. Moreover, we can even declare without reservation that neither me nor any other staff member from the company ever met with Alan Camilleri, or that any other t ype of contact was made with him by anyone either before the awarding of the contract, during the progress of works or later. In mid-January 2011 we were in- vited by architect Reuben Lautier to participate in a competitive tender for the submission of our quota- tion for the civil works and re-fit, to house the new Malta Enterprise offices at Gwardamagia. We had submitted our offer as per tender instructions and on the closing date, 7 February 2011, all the envelopes cast from the inter- ested bidders were opened in the presence of the architect Reuben Lautier, Malta Enterprise officials and representatives of the respec- tive bidding companies. After the adjudication proc- ess of all the offers submitted, we were informed that our offer was successful. Consequently, on sign- ing the contract, the works were awarded to us and eventually, all the works were carried out accord- ing to the tender specifications and to the client's satisfaction. In view of all the aforemen- tioned, we regard the article to be totally misleading and incorrect and detrimental to the company's reputation. Joseph Schranz Managing director Schranz Ltd The article 'Seabank owner announces €150 million land reclamation bid' (MaltaToday, July 13) makes the claim that the Seabank Hotel is built "on agricultural land". This is absolutely not true. In fact, the local plan specifies that the land in question was earmarked for "tourism opportunities". Furthermore, it was the Department of Agriculture itself which certified that the development could take place. Arthur Gauci, Chief Executive Officer, Seabank Resort + Spa Editorial note: MaltaToday specifically noted that the hotel's extension was built on agricultur- al land, as laid down in the Development Planning Application and relevant case officer's report. On June 8, Pope Francis met the Israeli and Pal- estinian Presidents at the Vatican to pray for peace in the Middle East. A few weeks later, hos- tilities broke out for the umpteenth time between the Israelis and Palestin- ians. So much for the much-hyped, peace-seeking trip to the Middle East by Pope Francis! The Vicars of Christ have been praying to God for peace in the Mid- dle East since 1986, when Pope John Paul met with other religious leaders for a prayer meeting at Assisi.A year later, in 1987, violence, rather than peace, broke out in Gaza and the West Bank. And much worse was to follow on 9/11 and during the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Syria.The facts speak for themselves: thousands of people have been killed in the Mid- dle East through terror- ism and war since 1986; towns and cities have been bombarded; and millions of people have been forced to f lee their homes and to live in appalling conditions in refugee camps. God has not responded to the prayers for peace. As Kant said, "petition- ary prayer is a superstitious illusion". John Guillaumier St Julian's One of the worst problems affecting our localities is that of parking facilities, or rather, the lack of them. Being a councillor at St Paul's Bay has deepened my understanding of how this difficulty is tak- ing its toll on all sections of our communities (residents, visitors, business sector, etc). All these different catego- ries have diverse priorities which, in this particular case, the local council, Transport Malta, MEPA and the central government try to balance. In a locality that is ever ex- panding, both vertically and horizontally, the demand for parking spaces will continue growing. No tailor-made or perfect solutions exist and no one in his right frame of mind will believe that any endeavor to find one can be taken lightly. Yet I strongly believe that measures can be taken to lessen the impact of a problem that is taking its toll on our health and economy. Driving around endlessly, looking for the elusive park- ing slot, is exacerbating the exhaust fume levels and creating road rage, leading to serious incidents. The lack of parking facilities is affecting also the business community, with potential customers driving away or avoiding the area altogether. Stating that nothing has been done to deal with the problem would be outright dishonest. Yet the challenge becomes greater daily and a serious attempt to lessen the difficulty is still to be made. An attempt at introducing a resident parking scheme in 2013 did not find the required support. I am taking the initiative to invite all interested parties to forward their ideas and sug- gestions to me on how they think the problem would be best dealt with. This might sound an amateurish way to tackle such a serious prob- lem. My opinion is that those who are facing the problem, most of whom are themselves a part of it, can come up with schemes or solutions tailor made for our locality and that have been ignored or are being missed by entities that deal with a much larger picture. The most valid sugges- tions will be presented to the local council for a serious discussion. With the limited finance at its disposal the council cannot achieve much, but surely alternative ways of funding (EU funding, Commuted Parking Payment Scheme (MEPA) or public- private partnership) can be explored. Please send your sugges- tions by August 10, 2014 to dr.robertpiscopo@gmail. com. Robert Piscopo St Paul's Bay local councillor Seabank Hotel To park, or not to park, in St Paul's Bay The futility of prayer