Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/797847
20 maltatoday, SUNDAY, 12 MARCH 2017 Opinion D uring a recent Xarabank programme, the Prime Minister stated that all expenses related to the running of the new home for those suffering from the degenerative disease ALS, will be borne by the state. The audience and the viewers of the TV programme were ecstatic with the news but in this euphoria, one comment either went unnoticed or received little coverage. Joseph Muscat said that this was possible thanks to the performance of the economy and that this arm of support was a duty. The government does not make money to hoard it, but to spend it wisely. And the Maltese economy has made great progress in these last four years. This was not at the expense of the raising of taxes, on the contrary. In 2015 alone, 54,000 Maltese citizens benefitted from a decrease in personal tax. In its winter forecasts published last month, the European Commission stated that it sees a positive future for Malta's economy. It also states that Malta's economic growth is expected to remain well above the average of the other EU member states. It also describes the growth in 2014 and 2015 as exceptional. This did not happen by chance. This Labour government has planned and charted a course to success carefully. Whereas the opposition is intent on attacking individuals on personal issues and often on their pay scale, the choice of technocrats has delivered the desired results. At Enemalta, an inherited debt of some €900 million has decreased by €700 million and this corporation is now running at a surplus. The EU report shows that during this legislature, the debt generated by the three previous PN-led governments will be wiped out and Malta will again revert to the levels of debt of 1998. One of the pillars of the economy is employment. During these last four years, the number of those unemployed has hit a record low whilst at the same time the number of gainfully occupied in Malta and Gozo is the highest ever recorded. This is partly due to the incentives that we have introduced, including the free childcare scheme and the benefits for those returning to the workplace. Education has played a significant part and we are working hard to make sure that the educational experience is a lasting experience. In fact, we are now geared better to cater for early school leavers and for those who were previously regarded as NEETs (Not in Education, Employment or Training), by providing a greater access to alternative learning programmes, apprenticeships and traineeships. This provision was part of the 'Youth Guarantee' that we pledged in our manifesto and which we are proud that we have delivered. Through MCAST, we have added a number of courses to ensure that education for all and lifelong learning is not just a policy but also an achievement that will benefit our youth and society in general. The internationalisation of education has also contributed to the success of education in Malta and Gozo. Healthcare in Malta has improved rapidly. In 2013, there were around 27,000 patients waiting for some type of surgery. This figure has now gone down to 14,000 and we will do better in the near future. This government has increased cancer medicine as part of the formulary and we have pledged far more reform and availability of cancer medicine in the near future. The financial sector has also performed well and this is primarily to the stability of the country and to the policies that have been adopted by this government. In tourism, we have now reached record arrivals and departures, where an increase of 22.5% has been registered for the number of Maltese travelling abroad. All the above and more have contributed to the economic wellbeing of the country. Nevertheless, by far, the biggest improvement has been the increase in disposable income of families in Malta and Gozo. The significant decrease of electricity rates has boosted personal finances. Businesses too have benefitted and it is estimated that hoteliers have made a saving of around €5 million on electricity bills. There is no doubt that the main reason for this feel good factor is the increase in the spending power of the people. We have worked hard and we will work even harder because the ultimate aim is to improve and raise the standard of living in our country to the highest level possible. Evarist Bartolo is Minister of Education and Employment B y the time this is published much will have been written about the loss of the Azure window in Gozo on the morning of 8th March. Judging by the general reaction on social media the news was greeted with collective dismay and sorrow by nearly everyone. It has even made international news, such was the importance and beauty of that amazing piece of petrous architecture. There were some who have even gone as far as to blame the Maltese government, present and past, for not doing anything to save the Window. I am not of that opinion. What was so special about Dwejra's jewel was not its shape, not its size, it was the very fact it was hewn from the bedrock by millions of waves, formed by countless storms and finely shaped by the unforgiving majjistral. To try to have saved it by artificial means would have greatly diminished its charm and attraction. It is so easy for man to manipulate and create things, but people can go to Dubai or Disneyworld to see such achievements. The infinitesimal chance that so many random forces could have created such a wonder – in the words of the BBC, one of the most photographed natural features in the world – is what drew so many people to the far west of Gozo. Nature creates and nature reclaims, it is the fundamental law of life. We may be sad we have lost the Azure Window, but we should also be grateful. Grateful such a magnificent feature graced our shores for millennia and is immortalised in countless movies, paintings and photographs. It will not be erased from our collective memory for generations to come. The loss of one window, however, has created another. A window of opportunity. Today, the day of its demise, we saw a general outpouring of feeling for the loss of part of our natural heritage. It shows that most Maltese, whatever their political affiliation, really do care about Malta and its assets. Our little archipelago is graced with natural and man-made features unique to us. They can be found nowhere else in the world and more than anything else give us our identity. We neglect them, erase them, change them at our peril. Malta is a work of art, a canvas created by nature and our ancestors over the years. It is not a cheap copy but an original masterpiece. Two million visitors to these shores last year can attest to the lure of that uniqueness. The Louvre in Paris has its Mona Lisa; St. John's Co-Cathedral has its Beheading of St John and the Sistine Chapel has Michalengelo's ceiling. Would anyone visit them if they were defaced, altered and diminished by a modern artist? Of course not. And we should not do that to our beautiful country. It has been scarred, abused and manipulated almost beyond recognition over the past 40 years for personal profit. Yet it is still salvageable. We must all take a step back and take a long hard look at what is being done to this country in the name of progress and development. Much is being planned in the future that will irreparably change the nature and character of Malta. Towers will destroy our unique skyline, projects of dubious value to the common good will destroy our very special urban landscape; permits for buildings on ODZ land gobbles more and more of our shrinking countryside and priceless architecture, especially in Sliema, is being obliterated just to pack more people into an ever more crowded space. Each and every day we Maltese are contributing to the wanton destruction of both our natural and man-made heritage either by direct action, collusion or complacency. Let the loss of the Azure window be a wake-up call. Whenever we lose something unique to Malta we lose a part of us. We hold this land in tenancy for our children and their children and the future generations that will come afterwards. We can hand to them a legacy we call Malta, or we can give them an anonymous hash that nobody wants or identifies with. Yes, the disappearance of the Azure Window into the depths of the Mediterranean has given us a window of opportunity to take stock of what we have, value it and work to protect it. Let's not lose it as well. Anthony Buttigieg is deputy leader Partit Demokratiku The proof of the pudding A window of opportunity Evarist Bartolo Anthony Buttigieg Each and every day we Maltese are contributing to the wanton destruction of both our natural and man-made heritage either by direct action, collusion or complacency. Let the loss of the Azure window be a wake-up call