Monday, October 1, 2018
Rector highlights importance of sustainability while also addressing language question
Rector Alfred Vella highlighted the importance of sustainability in his address on the opening day of the academic year at the University of Malta, also making reference to the use of the Maltese language.
Explaining that sustainability was written about profusely but had yet to be internalised and embraced by the majority, Vella said that universities should make the subject a key theme in their learning structures.
"We live in a society that, wittingly or not, preaches the value of consumption and thrift is often associated with poor and sub-standard existence.
"One associates industrialisation and abundant production of goods and services with affluence: indeed a country's well being is often measured by GDP per capita.
"Since consumption mimics affluence and given that consumption generally generates waste, then one expects that, for example, municipal solid waste produced per capita in a country should also be a measure of good living of its citizens," Vella said, nothing that Malta ranked fourth in the EU for MSW generated at 621 kg per capita.
Vella also highlighted worryingly low statistics in terms of the generation of recyclable waste (only 8% in Malta) and renewable energy (only 6% in Malta).
Following the rampant property development taking place, it was little surprise that Vella also made reference to the built environment, saying that "Malta is the EU country that is most cluttered with buildings and other artificial land uses".
He went on to announce that the university will be employing a number of measures with regards to sustainability through the creation of an 8 person committee on the issue, referencing energy saving measures, the installation of pv panels, and a green food project as key initiatives.
Maltese speakers feeling like they are in a foreign country
Vella began his address in Maltese, explaining that he could not "celebrate the start of the year in a different language".
He stressed the importance of Maltese being a language that defines the country, highlighting that it is an important tool for communication, and adding that Maltese-speaking citizens are being treated differently and feeling as though they were in a foreign country
With Minister Evarist Bartolo sitting in the audience, one has to question whether Vella was referring to his proposed introduction of teaching of Maltese as a vocational subject and a foreign language.
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People who administer justice must protect others from arrogance of power - Archbishop
People who work in the administration of justice do so to protect citizens from the arrogance of power, Archbishop Charles Scicluna said today.
The Archbishop was delivering his homily at St John's Co-Cathedral during the opening of the forensic year.
The mass was attended by current and former members of the judiciary, the Justice Minister, and advocates.
He spoke of the need for the judiciary to always weigh what is before them. "God forbid we ever end up with the courts becoming an instrument of oppression."
He mentioned that some clients do not want the truth or justice to come out, and said that lawyers must not compromise the truth or justice, adding that we should not become the voice of lies.
During his homily, he also pointed to a Caravaggio painting that depicts the assassination of John the Baptiste, but said the person who ordered the assassination there is not present. The executioner is there, he said, adding that on many such paintings the person who orders the act is not present.
The Archbishop spoke about fundamental ethics, and living a life based on virtues, doing the right thing. These virtues include prudence, temperance, strength and justice.
A prudent person seeks advice before taking decisions, weighing all options he said, while a person living a virtuous life uses temperance.
He said that strength is important in order to work according to ones principles, without looking to the left or right, or at faces.
The cardinal virtue of justice is to conduct oneself in a respectful manner, and to practice it, one needs prudence, strength, temperance and courage.
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Southbound carriageway of the Marsa-Hamrun Bypass to be closed tonight
The southbound carriageway of the Marsa-Hamrun Bypass, from the Santa Venera tunnels and Mriehel towards Marsa and Qormi, will be closed tonight, Monday 1st October, between 1900hrs and 0500hrs tomorrow morning, to complete the laying of its new road surface.
The southbound Tal-Qroqq tunnel (beneath University of Malta roundabout) and the southbound Santa Venera tunnel, which connect the Kappara flyover to Triq Regjonali to the Marsa-Hamrun Bypass, will be closed from 1900hrs onwards as well.
Last Saturday, Infrastructure Malta laid the first of the final two levels of asphalt to this carriageway, which was widened and rebuilt as part of a €5 million road upgrade commenced earlier this year. The topmost layer was scheduled to be applied on Tuesday 2nd October but was brought forward to tonight due to a bad weather forecast.
Road users travelling towards the south of Malta from the Kappara flyover junction will be diverted to the University of Malta roundabout and on towards Msida and Marsa (Triq Dicembru 13). Commuters reaching Triq Regjonali from Triq Salvu Psaila in Birkirkara will be directed to Santa Venera and Hamrun whilst those coming from the Mriehel Bypass towards the Marsa-Hamrun Bypass will be redirected to Qormi and Luqa.
The public is encouraged to avoid the southbound route of the Kappara flyover, Triq Regjonali and the Marsa-Hamrun Bypass areas by using alternative routes through Msida and Marsa (Triq Dicembru 13), or from Zebbug, Qormi and Luqa.
Police and Transport Malta traffic management officers will be stationed in the area, and along all alternative routes throughout the night, to guide road users in difficulty. Transport Malta's emergency vehicle breakdown towing service will be available at all times in this area as well. Drivers can call the emergency support line 8007 3399 to request this assistance.
Tonight's works include the laying of the topmost road surface cover to the entire southbound carriageway, from the Santa Venera tunnels to the Marsa-Qormi flyover. Over 1,500 tonnes of asphalt will be used for these works. Another 2,400 tonnes were required to lay the penultimate layer, on Saturday.
Similar works to complete the northbound carriageway of the same road will be carried out later next month, between Saturday 13 and Wednesday 17 October.
Through a €5 million project launched earlier this year, the Marsa-Hamrun Bypass was widened to a six-lane road to improve the safety and efficiency of the junctions and slip roads connected to it, eliminating several bottlenecks that caused delays to thousands of road users travelling along this south-central route. This investment is reducing travelling times in this road by 42%, whilst improving the area's air quality by decreasing congestion emissions.
The Marsa-Hamrun Bypass project, which may be part-financed by the European Union's Cohesion Fund, was scheduled to be completed in April 2019. However, the new and rebuilt lanes of this road were made available to road users in September. Infrastructure Malta is now planning to complete the project in the coming weeks, several months ahead of schedule.
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MPs have racked up €4,000 in fines for being absent from Parliament
MPs have racked up €4,000 in fines for being absent from Parliament so far this year, Speaker of the House of Representatives Anglu Farrugia told this newsroom.
Asked by The Malta Independent how many fines MPs had racked up, Speaker Farrugia confirmed this number, but said that he preferred not to provide a list of those MPs who still have pending fines.
However, he said, the attendance of MPs is always registered in the parliamentary minutes which are publicly available both in hard and soft copies. He noted that the relevant permanent orders to this subject speak about attendance to a parliamentary day rather than a parliamentary sitting.
This means that if on a particular day an MP attends a session at one of the Parliamentary Committees but not the main plenary, the said MP will not be subjected to any fines. This is due to the fact that the committees generally meet at the same time of Parliament.
The relevant permanent order (number 159) details that if MPs – including ministers and parliamentary secretaries - are absent for a whole parliamentary day, the MP must pay a fine of €50 by not later than six months after that day.
Parliament is back in session today after the summer break, and there are a number of matters on the agenda. These include the second reading of a number of bills, some of which relating to education, the Malta Financial Services Authority, arms, voluntary organisations – which is the first point on Monday's agenda – and family businesses.
The resumption of Parliament will also see the times for the sittings shift to earlier, more family-friendly hours, something which the Speaker said was possible following an agreement between the government and the Opposition. Furthermore, Parliament will be meeting earlier on a second day – aside from Wednesday. In fact, Monday will see the House Business Committee starting at 11:00am.
Asked whether he was considering reducing the amount of time that MPs are eligible to speak during sittings, hence making it more akin to the European Union's Parliament, Speaker Farrugia said that even though the Chair is in favour of reducing each MPs speaking time, such a measure must come following amendments in the Permanent Orders of the Parliament. Such an amendment would normally be put forward by the Government with the support of the Opposition
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