Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/644193
maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 24 FEBRUARY 2016 3 News Muscat reconfirms 'summer' power station deadline TIM DIACONO THE government will meet its latest deadline for the new LNG-fired power station in Delimara to start generating cleaner energy in the summer months, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat confirmed. Earlier, energy minister Kon- rad Mizzi refused to provide a fixed date when asked point blank by the press to do so, sim- ply reiterating that energy will start being generated "in the summer months". Addressing a Cabinet meeting with mayors and councillors at a hall in Birzebbuga, Muscat yesterday said that the govern- ment is open to suggestions for what to do with the land in Delimara, once the demolition work on the old power station is completed. The first demolition com- menced earlier this month with the decommissioning of a chim- ney and two boilers heated with heav y fuel oil. Muscat warned the mayors and councillors that the decommissioning of a power station is a delicate and time-consuming process. He also touched on the Malta Freeport, arguing that it must respect residents, after Birzeb- buga mayor Joseph Farrugia had urged it to stop works be- tween 10pm and 6am. Mayors of Malta's southern cities each had a turn to voice their locality's complaints di- rectly to the entire Cabinet. Complaints were mostly related to road infrastructure, trans- port, and lack of funding. Siggiewi's Nationalist mayor Karol Aquilina was the most vociferous, accusing govern- ment entities, in particular the MEPA and Transport Malta, of failing in their legal obligations to consult with local councils before commencing major pro- jects. "It is not enough to simply in- form local councils that a pro- ject will be carried out, but they must be properly consulted," he said. "Consultation with local councils is on the decline." During the meeting, Birzeb- buga's mayor warned that a Ro- man villa is falling to pieces, while Hal Safi mayor Francis Callus claimed that nurses em- ployed with the Health Depart- ment are, in their free time, charging elderly people €10 for blood tests in their own homes, using state hospital equipment. Here Muscat personally inter- vened, arguing that the govern- ment cannot interfere in the free market but that it will in- vestigate if indeed state medical equipment is being used. 'Need for green pockets' – Muscat Muscat struck an environ- mentally friendly tone at the end of the Cabinet consulta- tion, calling for the creation of more "green pockets" in locali- ties. He said the government is committed to implementing green policies, such as the ex- tension of the Nwadar nature park situated near the site where a controversial 'Ameri- can Institute of Malta' will be partially constructed. "More than that though, we need to create more green pock- ets in our localities where peo- ple can relax," he said. "Many such places already exist, but are inaccessible to the public." He insisted that the public transport service has improved since the new routes were in- troduced at the end of last year, noting that mayors had last year complained to him that their localities weren't served well enough by public transport. "That problem is now being solved, and we can turn our fo- cus to improving route punctu- ality." Describing the problem of lo- cal council financing as a "dou- ble-edged sword", he warned that decisions taken by coun- cils up to three legislatures ago were still impacting their suc- cessors. "Some councils commenced projects that drained funds for three consecutive council legis- latures, tying their successors' hands with regard to financing of other projects." He called for a proper debate on how such problems can be better "regulated". First asylum seekers under EU relocation mechanism arrive in Malta 15 asylum seekers identified by the Italian authorities under the European Union's reloca- tion programme have arrived in Malta. Welcoming the asylum seekers, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat tweeted "it shows we practice solidarity and not only advocate it when we need it." The 15 people who reached Malta yesterday represent just 11% of 131 whom Malta has pledged to take from Greece and Italy. In September last year, EU member states agreed to the re- location of 160,000 asylum seek- ers and refugees from Italy and Greece. The process has been very slow, with a total of 497 refugees relocated so far. The first group to land in Mal- ta – all names were selected by the Italians – have undergone the necessary security checks by the Maltese authorities. Upon their arrival, the normal proce- dures kicked in: the asylum seek- ers will be temporarily accom- modated at an initial reception facility after which they will be offered the possibility to stay in an open accommodation centre. Once at the open centre, as the migration policy specifies, residents will also be offered integration-oriented courses. As they seek work, also through the provision of courses address- ing skills gaps, the refugees will receive an allowance intended to cover daily expenses, such as meals and transport. The EU programme, which ex- posed divisions among member states and was approved after months of intense negotiations, was meant to help EU countries most affected by the migration crisis to cope with a sudden in- f lux of asylum seekers and refu- gees. All the countries, with the exception of the UK and Den- mark, agreed to relocate people from Greece and Italy. Eurostat data showed that the top three origins of people who applied for asylum in the EU between Octo- ber 2014 and October 2015 were from Syria, Afghanistan and Ko- sovo. SAMUEL Cmailleri, a 19-year-old, died after falling from a height of three storeys while working at a construc- tion site in Triq id-Du- luri, Pieta. Police say that the man, who had lived in Haz-Zebbug, died in hospital while receiv- ing treatment. Police investigations are ongoing and a mag- isterial inquiry is being headed by Joe Mifsud. Teenage worker dies in construction accident Samuel Camilleri