Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/448091
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 18 JANUARY 2015 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 latest U-turn on the rates of eco- taxation for plastic bags is indicative of a symptom which the current administra- tion has made its hallmark. The reversal of the eco-contribution rates for plastic bags was not the most earth shattering of news and the issue cannot be compared to many others, more serious, that face us. When Environment Minister George Pullicino and Parliamentary Secretary Tonio Fenech stood in front of the media Friday they admitted to no mistake, but it is more than clear that somebody, or more than one person, did not do his homework. A legal notice, often introduced secretive- ly, is legally binding, but this legal notice in particular was bound to attract attention as it affects us all. The fact that the news of the suddenly higher prices spread like wildfire and had industry up in arms, is a clear indication that people took the issue to heart. While the word on the street was that it was good to tax plastic so as to pro- tect the environment nobody could believe the prices that the legal notice introduced. George Pullicino said it was producers of plastic bags that changed government's plans at the last minute and caused the price of denser and larger bags to shoot up so that large garbage bags would have sold at 76 cents each. Asked whether he consulted with anyone at all Pullicino said that there was consultation with manu- facturers of plastic bags. Obviously that was the wrong choice as the result of that consultation was disastrous. But where was the consultation with the constituted bodies, civil society, environment groups and people that could do simple maths and point out that the eco-contribution rates were untenable. Even if there was to be no consultation is it possible that nobody involved in the prepara- tion of the legal notice noticed that not all plastic bags are thin and light weight and that applying a price per kilo would affect different plastic bags dif- ferently. If the announced rates remained in place a supermarket would have faced a bill of Lm760 for 1000 plastic bags and some companies would have faced additional costs in the region of Lm200,000 annually. That proper forward planning is of the essence is something that this government, which is not made up of a bunch of nov- ices, should surely have learned by now. The lack of planning is equally evident in that degrada- ble and bio-degradable bags are not commonly available for people to buy as an alternative to the environmentally unfriendly ones, something that both the ministry responsible for the environment and WasteServ that has been purchasing these bags should have thought of. The recent U-Turn would not be so worrying if it does not follow other similar clumsy handling of decisions including the topical one related to vacation leave, the smoking regulations, Mater Dei, the sleight of hand related to increased electricity prices, the new regulations for bars and restaurants. Dialogue, which was a hallmark of the PN in the eighties has now become something that was and is easily done away with. Having said all that, the decision to change the eco-rates to 6 cents for 'normal' plastic bags, 1 cent for degradable bags and nil for biodegradable is not only a welcome step forward, but should lead to an improvement in the environment and forgetting the few messy days of controversy and the confusion people will face when no degra- dable or biodegradable bags are to be found in supermarkets, the new eco-contribution rates on plastic bags are to be wholeheartedly wel- comed. They may well be a feather in the cap of this Administration yet. Bad planning, U-turns and plastic bags Editorial • January 9 2005 Gozo and Albania The good news rejected There might be more than a few things common to Gozo and Albania. Double insularity might be one of them. Those who need to spend time in Gozo and also cross over to Malta or the other way round, despite the improved ferry serv- ice over the decades, still find that it takes them hours to go from one island to the other. This has its drawbacks, which due to our country's member- ship of the European Union also gets us several millions to be spent on projects for the com- mon good. Alas, Albania is not a member of the EU, for years it was under dictatorial rule which kept it underdeveloped and previous to that it was a Mussolini colony during WWII and prior to that of the Turkish Ottoman empire, which likewise stunted its devel- opment. Since getting their basic freedoms Albanians have been trying to improve their country, which is perhaps the poorest in Europe. Millions of Albanians have emigrated to the rest of Europe, the United States and other countries in search of work. Many more Albanians have remained in their country and in our small way the Maltese and Gozitans are helping them as much as possible. One such champion is Fr Cuta- jar, who hails from San Lawrenz, who has been slogging along for years in four very poor villages in the north. One can imagine the poverty if one takes into ac- count that one of these villages is an ex-concentration camp for political prisoners. Prisoners who, once freed, returned to their homes and the poor north Albania herdspeople, took over this ex-concentration camp to at least have a roof over their heads. In other areas of Albania some progress has been registered. For example in the capital city, Tirana, there is the campus of an Italian university which offers less expensive and more plentiful degree courses than available on the peninsula across the Adriatic. In another area of Albania those enterprising enough are using shallow river beds for fish farming. Marginal soil which cannot support normal farming is also used to plant and harvest spices which yearly bring in $20 million from exports mainly to the USA. However, in many areas of Albania poverty stares you starkly in the face. Which is one more reason for one to chip in and help the likes of Fr Cutajar through the fund raising mara- thon being held by the Socio Religious Foundation on 23, 24 and 25 January on the local television stations. G. Bonett Marsalforn With reference to Mr Guil- laumier's letter ('The Christmas myth', 22 December, 2014), I have two suggestions for him. Seemingly leading a disgrun- tled and chequered life com- pletely at odds with our cultural and religious heritage, he should go and live in a Muslim or fun- damentalist country, pen similar letters and vent his spleen against their religious beliefs. Secondly, on the year's short- est, darkest day, he should have tried to find some guiding light readily available in Jesus Christ – the Star, the Sun, the Son. If his letter is another subtle, futile attempt to rekindle the fal- lacies that Christ's existence is a myth and magnified legend, may I remind him that Christ really lived and founded a church in his lifetime, the benevolence and presence of which is more than abundantly evident and He is still with Her. It is interesting to note that ridiculing Christianity is con- sidered acceptable by the press. Let's hope that this trend is not extended and that what was once the national faith is not openly held in contempt while other faiths and opinions get protected space columns in the newspa- pers. I nearly forgot a third bit of advice. He'd better focus his ridicule and parody at least on earthly things rather than the supreme Being who alone does wondrous deeds. At this time of the year, his glorious name is blessed forever and the whole earth is filled with glory. Christmas was His masterpiece entwined in humility. Sometimes I feel I am wasting my time in replying to Mr G's letters but I hope and pray that he does not waste any more of his, because he may live to regret it. John Azzopardi Zabbar In an excellent article in Illum of 23 November, 2014, just before the budget, the veteran pensioner and the most informed person on pensions in our country (may God continue to give him the enjoyment of his further longevity), Albert J Tabone, highlight- ed once again to the authorities the precarious situation of a great number of pensioners in Malta who must rely for their daily living on the miserly pension of €10,000 per year. Again in Illum but on 14 December, 2014, the lawyer Joe Ellis, heralded the song of victory following the court decision in favour of the landowner by the European Court on Human Rights. My personal view is that landowners have every right to enjoy the benefits of their property but there are two points which Dr Ellis conveniently did not deal with. Indeed, he tried to throw bad light on Strickland and his Compact Government with the Labour Party and on Mintoff of the late seven- ties. And instead, he glorified how Nationalist politicians of the past, in true colours, sided with the landowner against the proposal for social housing for the poor. In my view, the European Court decision has a "right" and a "wrong". The correct part is that it condemned the tenant who abused social housing benefits unscrupulously, and the au- thorities (and the local courts) allowed this to persist. The ugly part is that the compensation was shifted on to the taxpayer and not to the perpetrator. Dr Ellis did not make any clear exposition of these two points. It is not social housing which is wrong. Both Strickland and Mintoff worked for this to happen and had to face insurmount- able opposition. It is the abuse of it that is wrong. Under Nationalist admin- istrations of not so long ago, there had been rich individuals, known by whoever had the duty to know them, of having taken an apartment on rent from the housing department, retained it, were later given a plot where to build a house like a villa and then even allowed to shift the use of the apart- ment to benefit their son. I can assure you that these persons had not been poor as to need any assistance from social housing. In an- other case, an even richer landowner, who was well-off enough to build villas for his children, succeeded to obtain for his son the benefit of a plot of land which was later converted into apartments and sold by them for hefty profits commercially. In light of all this, I return to the appeal made by our friend Mr Tabone to insist with the authorities that a pension of €10,000 per year is simply inadequate for a decent living in old age. I further extend the same argument to that of the law on rent. A pensioner who depends on a pension of €10,000 simply cannot afford to pay for the current rate of rent of approximately €4,500 per annum for the most basic of accommodation. And our banks have simply been allowed to be most anti-social when allowed to reduce lending interest rates to practically nothing. The pensioner has been denied any possibility of a reliable and regular in- come from interest on investments, so much needed to enable the pensioner to top up to the limitations of the pen- sion. For pensioners, investing in the stock exchange is simply a no go. In the end, both Strickland and Min- toff were right in their times in dealing with the rent law and Dr Ellis finds it hard to acknowledge this, oblivious of the reality that no landowner would risk investing in anything if the return on his capital is not profitable enough to him. Joseph Camilleri Mosta Pensioners and the law on rents