Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/688389
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 5 JUNE 2016 26 Letters TRANSPORT Minister Jesmond Mugli- ett has reiterated the government is "duty-bound" to find a solution to traffic congestion at Xemxija Hill, after Mani- kata farmers once again voiced their op- position to a proposed 6km bypass that will cut through their fields. Mugliett claimed the need for a bypass that alleviates traffic on Xemxija Hill is informed by anticipated traffic growth expected to increase from 23,000 vehi- cles daily to 26,000 by the year 2010. The minister said that if no concrete action is taken, the long traffic queues towards and from Mellieha on weekends will become the order of the day. "It is also likely that if such a situation were to persist, the additional traffic would start using the roads through Manikata and Mizieb to avoid delays, despite the fact that these two roads were not designed to carry such large volumes of traffic. One can also anticipate difficulties for Gozi- tans and tourists wanting to reach Gozo." The Lm10 million road forms part of the EU-funded Trans-European Net- work. The government's proposal, which Mugliett has said is not cast in stone, is to have the road cut through Manikata's rural landscape where a 499-km tunnel will cut through and emerge at Mellieha. Farmers are opposing the road project saying that it will ruin the countryside, and increase noise and air pollution. The half-kilometre tunnel that will emerge at Mellieha will be passing right under Manikata's households, which farmers say will affect the protected wa- ter reserve at Ghajn Znuber and Mizieb since the tunnel will cut right across the natural water reserve. A spokesperson for the farmers, Mario Cardona, has said the road will affect the apiculture indus- try and destabilise the ecosystem. A technical meeting last held on 26 April ended with ADT engineers decid- ing they would go back to an option that had previously discarded. The new pro- posal has been passed over to MEPA to analyse the impact that it will have on the surrounding environment. Mugliett said the old proposal can be discarded only once MEPA gets back with positive feedback on this new pro- posal. Environment Minister George Pul- licino said he is still seeing waiting for the Malta Transport Authority to final- ise the process. Pullicino compared the Manikata road plans with Italian plans to construct a mega highway in the Val de Susa. "Even Italy which is far bigger has its problems with the TAV road network which will be passing from the Val di Su- sa valley. While the whole of Italy wants the TAV, those, which will be directly ef- fected by it, do not want it. On a smaller scale we have the same problem." Mugliett says bypass is solution to Xemxija congestion 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. Unfounded reports on Air Malta engineering Public transport disruption for religious festa The Association of Airline Engi- neers was surprised to read the articles of the Times of Malta (24 May 2016) and the Sunday Times' unfounded media reports which state that "Air Malta is planning to hive off some of its non-core operations" and that the engi- neering department was ear- marked as one of "the first areas to be hived off once the deal was done" and that "it has already been agreed that certain non- core operations of the airline, particularly ground handling and engineering, will be outsourced". The articles are very badly timed because in the coming weeks, Air Malta is focused on a company-wide due diligence review and already auditors have assessed the Engineering depart- ment in a positive light. The AAE was informed by Air Malta management, and confirmed by the Minister of Tourism Edward Zammit Lewis, that at present there are no plans to hive off its Engineering sec- tion. Air Malta engineering is confident that its excellent track record in aircraft safety and work efficiency throughout the years, which are fully recognised by the Air Malta management and the government as its stakeholder, will also be acknowledged by any potential investors even before any deal is made. Engineering has proved to possess excellent safety and economic track records through countless internal and external audits and assessments. Apprais- als by independent international bodies such as Airbus and Ernst & Young serve as certificates to its ongoing efforts. During past rescue-pact agreements and restructuring plans, AAE was repeatedly named as a model union to negotiate with, able to understand quickly the com- pany's objectives while main- taining focus on the needs of its members without much ado. This resulted in signing collective agreements in record time during those critical periods to preserve stability. The engineering department merged Line and Base main- tenance sections into one for increased efficiency, streamlined its pay structure, introduced f lex- ibility in shift patterns and con- tinue to do more work without replacing retired engineers. Engineers negotiate mainte- nance contracts on engines, airframes and components which save millions each year as their expertise cannot be disputed. One needs to mention that Air Malta engineering has been ser- vicing Alitalia aircraft in Malta on an ad hoc basis for many years and our relationship is excellent. Also Air Malta engineering was instrumental in assisting Etihad to introduce the Airbus A319/320 family to its f leet and on its AOC. Charles Azzopardi AAE President 6 June 2006 On Friday evening 13 May, buses were not running along the St Julian's-Sliema prom- enade due to a noisy feast – with lots of drum-beating – at Spinola Bay. People at the bus stops along this busy route waited in vain for buses that never showed up. This is an outdated practice that has no place in Malta's congested traffic. Public trans- port along Malta's busiest route should not be disrupted for the sake of religious functions commemorating legendary "saints" or events that alleg- edly took place 2,000 years ago. This wasn't the only occasion when such disruption along the Sliema promenade took place. On the so-called feast of Our Lady of Sorrows, the traffic along the promenade was also disrupted, and cars and buses had to make detours in the dark through Sliema's narrow side streets – to the annoyance and irritation of those who were caught in the traffic jam. The confusion was com- pounded with noise from loud- speakers in the streets which broadcast inane sermons. It's time for the Labour gov- ernment to abolish religious functions which hinder the f low of traffic. We're no longer living in an age when Malta's streets were devoid of traf- fic, apart from a few cabs and horses. Public transport and the f low of traffic should take precedence over the public dis- play of religious mummeries! John Guillaumier St Julian's There is no denying, Ira Losco gave an excellent performance in representing Malta during the recently held Eurovision Song Contest. She did her best, with an impeccable voice and in spite of being five months' pregnant, she gave a first-class rendition of a song which however was not the one chosen by the Maltese public nor by the judges especially se- lected for this purpose. Walk On Water was imposed by so called artistic experts replac- ing the one chosen by the Maltese nation and the panel of judges during the local Song for Europe contest. This was an insult to public opinion and against the basic rules of democracy. Consequently, the chosen song was not tried and tested by any jury, whether it be the public or a selected panel of judges, and had to compete with songs chosen by the opinion of much larger nations. Certain so-called artistic experts thought they know best, and that the public and jury's choice was irrelevant. Ira Losco had therefore an insurmountable task to compete against all odds. Even Australia was expected to win first place in this song contest followed by Russia, France, Austria, and several others. Unfortunately, politics also played an important part in this contest, because the ultimate winner was the Ukrain- ian song which was mainly a political song referring to the Stalinist past of mass deporta- tion of Ukranians, as a revenge for supporting Nazism during the Second World War. Although expectations for Ira were high, expecting a top-three placing, she was not just expected to sing the song but actually walk on water. And as far as is known, only Jesus Christ has managed to achieve this task without me- chanical or artificial assistance. Raymond Sammut Mellieha Hard for Ira to walk on water