Is 2018 more important than 2017?

It seems to be the Labour Party’s destiny, that whenever it is in power, it misses an important appointment, and that in a rather grand way. In 1997, when Malta was the European Capital of Culture (it was a different setting from the one which will see Valletta as the European Capital of Culture in 2018) the main street of Valletta ended up all ditches, rubble, pipes and dust.

Now that Malta has the Presidency of the EU Council these six months, the area outside Valletta seems like a battleground.

The justification is to finish the works of embellishment outside City Gate by the end of this year so as to be ready when Valletta is the European Capital of Culture. Such an approach seems to downplay the importance of the Presidency of the EU Council (despite all the talk recently about the 2500 journalists who will be coming to Malta during the presidency) let alone the ministers, and the heads of government.

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There is another issue: it used to be Minister Joe Mizzi who used to speak about the works outside City Gate.

Now, all of a sudden, this hot potato seems to have been handed to Parliamentary Secretary Deborah Schembri who, for all her abilities, does not strike one as knowing how to drive such a public works programme, especially when the Public Works Department does not fall under her remit. Whatever, it was always planned to do up the Ditch and to embellish the wide area surrounding the Tritons Fountain (which needs a complete refurbishing which we doubt if it can be done in just a year).

It is a mystery why the present government wasted four years only to undertake the works now at the last minute and during the Presidency.

There was some loose talk in the intervening years that seemed to put in doubt the works outside City Gate as projected by Renzo Piano. We are happy to note that common sense seems to have intervened and that the area outside City Gate will be done more or less according to Renzo Piano’s proposals.

It is also a good thing that finally someone has taken the bit in his mouth and the unsightly and dirty, Middle Eastern aluminium kiosks outside City Gate have been removed. It was about time that the Casbah outside City Gate was removed.

So it is all systems go and massive disruption until the works are complete. We are quite sceptical about works done to a deadline as usually such works leave very much to be desired.

Unless there is strict supervision, especially in jobs like this where many people have to work in close proximity at the same time and to a deadline, we can end up with multiple mistakes and crossed wires.

Here’s to the project, which is valid, and to a satisfactory completion in time and expenditure.