Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/587664
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 18 OCTOBER 2015 26 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. Solving congestion requires aggregate of measures Religion, a purely geographic coincidence Much has been written about the problem of car traffic and the use of public transport. We need to see why people in the first place persist in using their cars especially to and from their place of work. If we un- derstand the reasons why, then perhaps we can proceed to un- derstand better how to address what is increasingly becoming one of Malta's major problems. One reason may simply be in- grained habit. Many are simply addicted to the use of their car. I have actually come across peo- ple who have never used public transport in Malta or who prefer to drive to work when a 20- minute walk would suffice. In a country the size of Malta with a small landmass, 420,000 inhabitants and close to 330,000 cars on the road, the situation is clearly getting out of hand and at some stage in the not-too- distant future we may reach a point where using one's car may actually mean a good couple of hours to reach one's place of work. Apart from the almost daily nightmare of driving to work in congested traffic, one is invari- ably faced with the additional 'pleasure' of finding parking space. Certainly not the best way to start one's day at work! Little seems to have been done to consider what incentives can be created to encourage more people – especially workers – to use public transport during peak hours. One idea might be reduced fares during peak hours – 6:30am-8:30am and 4:30pm- 6:30pm. A few years back, extensive use was being made of a mini- bus service from various areas of Malta to Valletta. For some reason this is no longer that much in use. A similar and more extensive service should be con- sidered, if need be supported by the Transport Ministry. A car-sharing culture should also be promoted. I cannot help notice the number of cars in the early morning hours consisting of only one single person – the driver. I am sure other readers can suggest other practical ideas which with a bit of common sense and discipline can be implemented. There is no ultimate single solution which may address traffic congestion on roads, but the solution lies in the aggregate of various meas- ures which together may serve to alleviate matters. One thing is fairly obviously some drastic measures must be taken before we reach the point of no return. Dr Paul Edgar Micallef Valletta Have you ever wondered why you were brought up in your particular religion, whichever that might be? In all probability the particular society in which you grew up adheres to the same denomination and has done so for hundreds or even thousands of years. In reality this stranglehold over the mind of society has been extant since primitive times and during all this long period truth was never on the agenda. Have you ever considered how many dif- ferent religions held sway over a gullible humanity, before themselves being reduced to the category of myths? But before being relegated to their mythological corner, in their heyday, these religious faiths were per- forming miracles by the thousand according to the testimony of the many believers of those bygone times. Despite their apparent diversity that in reality is only skin deep, religions always shared one thing in common; every single one of them claims to be the one and only true faith and this of course for obvious reasons that need no explanation here. So at the end of the day whoever you are and wherever you may be living, the ulti- mate factor that determines one's religion from birth is a purely geographic one with very rare exceptions. Vladimir Cini Marsaxlokk A lawyer was quoted last summer in a local newspaper, as saying that "religions deserve more respect". This is a self-serving notion of religious people themselves. They've accorded themselves this special privilege which is not recognized by those who don't share their beliefs. Far from deserving "more respect", religion is a divisive blight that poisons everything. The forces of Catholic reaction are working hard to under- mine freedom of speech. The Archbishop equates criticism of Catholic beliefs with "insults". Catho- lic correspondents are now freely using the word "vilification" whenever anyone dares to criticize their beliefs. In a long-winded opinion piece, former minister Tonio Borg used the word "vilification" no less than 14 times! In a series of legal disquisitions in the same newspaper, Kevin Aquilina, University of Malta dean at the Faculty of Laws emerged as the reactionary defender of the "vilification" law that could send you to jail, just as in the dark days of the Inquisition. In its editorial of 2 September, the Times of Malta joined in the attack on freedom by speech by branding criticism of religion as a "an invitation to provocation". This smacks of the Church's obscurantism that would prefer to stifle debate, in order "to prevent the examination of dogmas whose absurdity is too palpable to be concealed" (Helvetius). John Guillaumier St Julian's News • 16 October 2005 Stage fright for Welcomevents as CHOGM closes in November's appointment with the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting is nearing closer but all is not well for the organisers of the opening event, Welcomevents and the host centre, the Mediterranean Conference Centre in Valletta. The construction of a special stage for the 25 November gala has encountered a last-minute glitch as lack of funds and a complaint at the Department of Con- tracts appear to have stalled the process. The stage is part of the tender obliga- tions for organisers Welcomevents, a commercial offshoot of TV company Where's Everybody, who were awarded the Lm49,500 government tender. The tender also obliges the organisers to provide a special 'cultural event stage' which is expected to carry a complex water feature. All costs would however be borne by the CHOGM task force. The Mediterranean Conference Centre is however hampered with trying to deliver the stage with just a handful of thousands of liri, deemed an impossible feat by contractors who have also placed their bids for the special stage. "I'd like to see which madman is ready to do something like that," Martin Pillow, director of Pillow Space Frame and a tenderer for the construction of the stage, told MaltaToday. Pillow's lawyers have informed the Department of Contracts of irregularities in a re-issued tender by the MCC, com- plaining about unorthodox procedures. Recent events have in fact betrayed the lack of funds troubling the CHOGM spectacular: all turned to the worse last week when the MCC directors had to withdraw the stage tender, after receiving two bids of Lm75,000 and Lm90,000, far too high for the Lm20,000 the CHOGM task force was ready to fork out for the stage. Chairman Peter Fenech was clueless as to what MCC would do next: "we shall see. I can't tell you at this point. We have to wait." Shrugging off suggestions of financial problems, Fenech claimed the matter was also "technical". Equally as perplexed was Ambassador Salv Stellini, the head of the CHOGM task force, who claimed he was unaware of the withdrawal of the tender for the important stage. MCC re-issued the tender for the stage again this week for a smaller and modified stage however offering to cap its spend at Lm15,000 to 'rent' the stage. "They want to build a complex, ellipti- cal stage by renting it out for Lm15,000, which means we are to console ourselves with the fact that we can dismantle the stage and look for somebody else to pay us to let them use the stage," Martin Pil- low said. Ambassador Stellini on Friday said the MCC would be responsible for the provision of the stage, and did not rule out having to fork out more cash for the CHOGM stage: "If we have to pay some- thing extra as CHOGM date nears, we will not let everything fall apart." Journalist Lou Bondì, who is doubling up as chairman of the Welcomevents consortium, did not comment when asked how his show will be affected by the untimely hold-up. Bondì directed MaltaToday to ask all questions to gov- ernment. Bondì also headed the Welcomeurope consortium which organised the 1 May EU accession celebrations. As in last year's EU spectacular, Welcomevents will be raking in revenues from corporate sponsorships. The special stage for the CHOGM opening is expected to be constructed between the main stage – where Com- monwealth monarchs and presidents will be seated – and the dress circle. Half-way through their term, the Labour Party turned the right-wing masters of the PN into political nomads wander- ing in the wilderness, looking in vain for issues to hang onto. With every positive measure by the Labour government, the opportunity for plundering the national wealth slips that much further from the right-wing paymasters of the PN. Thorny issues concern- ing health, energy and social services are being handled successfully. The hands-on ap- proach of Chris Fearne turned the inadequate Mater Dei into a success-story. Waiting lists spanning over year are a distant memory. Michael Farrugia adequately replaced his illustrious pred- ecessor. He is an experienced, progressive individual in whose able hands the social welfare can only improve. Mega-projects like the Univer- sity at Zonqor Point are likely to generate hundreds of jobs, giving further impetus to an already stable and f lourishing economy and reduce the already ever lowest unemployment fur- ther. Measures adopted for civil unions, gender equality, and reduction of exorbitant water and energy rates has already established the Labour Party as an enlightened progressive party committed to creation of an egalitarian society based upon social justice. A progressive and prosper- ous Malta is unpalatable for the right-wing reactionaries and bigots. Hence a campaign of lies, vilification by the puppets of the right-wing reactionaries to malign the Labour Party. In their desperation the are clutching at straws and making mountains out of mole-hills. These born-again saints who had patronized corruption in the past legislatures are only deluding themselves. After all the, masses are not that 'simple, Simon'. Dr Ali Sarfraz Mtarfa Progressive Labour unpalatable to reactionaries