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18 maltatoday EXECUTIVE EDITOR Matthew Vella MANAGING EDITOR Saviour Balzan Letters to the Editor, MaltaToday, Vjal ir-Rihan, San Gwann SGN 9016 E-mail: dailynews@mediatoday.com.mt Letters must be concise, no pen names accepted, include full name and address maltatoday | SUNDAY • 3 JUNE 2018 1 June, 2008 Threefold increase in housing allocations The number of rented houses allocated by the government increased threefold in the three months before the election, from a mere 32 in the first three months of 2007 to 106 in the first three months of 2008. The sharpest increase was registered in Valletta and Cospicua. In the capital city the number of allocated dwellings shot up from just four in the first three months of 2007 to 25 in the corre- sponding period in 2008. In the same period the number of al- located dwellings in Cospicua increased from 11 in 2007 to 36 in 2008: an increase of almost 230%. A further 203 dwellings were allocated through the shared ownership scheme, mainly in Pembroke and Mtarfa. But the relevant statistics for 2007 are not yet available. A spokesperson for the Min- istry of Social policy attributed the drastic increase in the number of houses allocated before the election to a greater availability of housing units after a number of abusive tenants who were not even living in the homes rented to them by the government were evicted. "This resulted in an increase in vacant dwellings which we could distribute to those in need," the Ministry spokesperson explained. According to the same spokesperson the eviction of the abusive tenants was a direct result of the fusion of the Housing Author- ity and the Department for Social Housing. The same spokesperson also justified the sharp increase in the allocation of houses in Cospicua claiming that an unspecified number of people had been relocated from a block which had been demolished. .... While the number of houses allocated by the social housing department experienced a threefold increase before the election, no such increase was noted in the number of people given an invalidity pension. Actually, these decreased from 206 in the first three months of 2007, to 144 in the three months of 2008. This decrease came in the wake of a po- lice investigation leading to the arraignment of PN activist Saverin Sinagra and Thomas Woods who was fired from his post in for- mer Health Minister Louis Deguara's secre- tariat soon afterwards. MaltaToday 10 years ago Quote of the Week Priorities in a changing Malta THE results of our survey, published today, provide a snapshot of a country that is in the process of rapid change: with all the positive and negative repercus- sions that this implies. Unsurprisingly, traffic remains a number one issue for the Maltese people, at 16.6%. But it has dropped four percentage points from our last survey, held last March; and much more so since October 2017, when the issue weighed in at a staggering 35.7%... the high- est it has ever been. This decrease may indeed reflect an overall im- provement in the actual traffic situation, especially since the completion of a number of road infrastruc- tural projects. But it may also be the case that other concerns are narrowing the gap. Perhaps the most striking statistic is an apparent spike in concerns with environmental degradation, coupled with the effects of the construc- tion industry. Taken together, these two concerns almost (but not quite) overtake traffic at first place. Here, there is no mystery as to the increase in concern. These statistics are directly proportional to the damage being done to the environment, in a way that has a very direct impact on the quality of life in Malta. There can no longer be any doubt that Malta's undeniable recent economic progress has been achieved at a significant cost to the natural and ur- ban landscape: and a lot of this cost can be measured (literally) in acres and hectares of lost public space. This construction drive, in turn, is in part fuelled by the extraordinary demographic changes the coun- try has experienced in recent years. It is no surprise that environmental issues are matched by the emer- gence of a whole new category of public concern: an influx which is boosting population levels, and – directly as well as indirectly – placing a strain on Malta's infrastructure and resources. Although the levels of concern are not, in them- selves, enough to trigger alarm bells, it can be seen that many people are uncomfortable with the sheer pace of change. And their concern is not groundless: though the economic benefits of such rapid expan- sion are undeniably positive, it remains a fact that Malta is expanding at a faster rate than the changes to its infrastructure can accommodate. Recently, the tourism and hospitality sector raised eyebrows by questioning whether there should be an upward limit to the number of tourists Malta should try to attract. It was an unusual argument, coming from the industry that benefits most from a tourism influx... but if even the industry is struggling to cope, we must begin to likewise question whether Malta as a whole is prepared to handle the changes it is cur- rently going through. Nonetheless, the item which will most likely con- cern the present government is corruption, which has steadily increased as a national concern since last March. The period coincides with the revelations made by the Daphne Project, some of which revived the allegations of money laundering and corruption by top people in the government. On this score, our surveys seem to indicate a rising groundswell of public opinion that – although still small, in terms of active, vociferous demands –ex- pects higher standards of governance than this coun- try is actually receiving. This is a flipside to the same coin: Muscat's government has been very effective at revitalising the economy, and transforming Malta into a more forward-looking country. It has been conspicuously less successful at reforming itself and its own work- practices, to bring its governance levels to the same standards of 'excellence' it seeks to establish for the country. On all these fronts, the message is clear. Malta's new economic realities need to be better managed, and better catered for by infrastructure and legisla- tion. Otherwise, we may win the battle for traffic... but end up losing the war for a fairer, more equitable Malta. >•< On a separate note, the Front Against Censorship has this week proposed an amendment to Malta's newly-launched Media and Defamation Act that would protect Maltese newspapers from so called SLAPP actions in foreign courts. (A SLAPP is a 'stra- tegic lawsuit against public participation' intended at dissuading journalists from pursuing stories through expensive and damaging legal actions in foreign courts.) The proposed amendment is simply to cap any libel judgements handed down by foreign courts, to within the maximum limit imposed by local courts. It also aims to guide the Maltese courts to consider whether the defendant was accorded equal rights in the foreign court, whether the damages imposed by the foreign court would result in the financial ruin of the newspaper or compromise its ability to oper- ate, and whether the judgment is likely to impede the newspaper's journalistic freedoms or freedom of expression. On the surface, this appears entirely reasonable and practical: especially if the Front is correct that the measure would still be compliant with the Brus- sels I Regulation, that requests European courts to uphold decisions on matters of tort. Either way, the issue remains to date unresolved; and despite recent improvements to the Press Act, Maltese news outlets still operate under constant threat of ruinous overseas libel suits. Government would do well to take such recom- mendations on board, if its claims to having protect- ed local media are to ring true. Editorial "The Lands CEO should not be a 'yes man' - he should be a people's CEO, not the Prime Minister's CEO. The Authority should be led by the best person to do the job." Nationalist MP Marthese Portelli Our surveys seem to indicate a rising groundswell of public opinion that – although still small, in terms of active, vociferous demands – expects higher standards of governance than this country is actually receiving