The Green Whistleblower
Published on the Sunday Times of Malta on Sunday 29th April, 2007 by Alan Deidun.
We know what we want for Gozo
Government will still find it hard not to alienate environmental NGOs as long as it harbours within its fold individuals like Euchar Mizzi who wrote an article "Ahna nafu x'irridu jew le?" ("Do we know what we want or not?", In-Nazzjon, March 28) in which he takes NGOs to task for opposing mega-projects in Gozo, such as the Hondoq marina project and Ta' Cenc project, since, in his words, in so doing, NGOs are depriving Gozitans of good employment opportunities and are the major cause of unemployment in Gozo.
Needless to say, Mr Mizzi failed to mention the fact that more jobs in the tourism sector will be lost if Gozo is smothered by development, as has happened to Malta, in the Balearics, etc.; that Gozitans maybe prefer to have a good quality of life (e.g. enjoy clean bathing water at Hondoq and uncluttered views at Ta' Cenc) rather than a good standard of living, which is often very difficult to quantify in feasibility studies.
Mr Mizzi harps on about cheap labour, which should be kept away from our shores - what about employment in the catering industry that the mega projects he speaks about will generate in the long term? The wages offered in this sector in Gozo are miserly.
What happened to the jobs promised by the proponents of some of the hotels that are being converted into apartment blocks? On the other hand, the site has been committed and lost forever. One should also not bank on the jobs in the construction sector that are being bandied about since these are only short term - the degraded bathing water quality however will be a more durable scar.
This is part of the article. If you want to view the whole article please go to
http://www.timesofmalta.com/core/article.php?id=259792
We know what we want for Gozo
Government will still find it hard not to alienate environmental NGOs as long as it harbours within its fold individuals like Euchar Mizzi who wrote an article "Ahna nafu x'irridu jew le?" ("Do we know what we want or not?", In-Nazzjon, March 28) in which he takes NGOs to task for opposing mega-projects in Gozo, such as the Hondoq marina project and Ta' Cenc project, since, in his words, in so doing, NGOs are depriving Gozitans of good employment opportunities and are the major cause of unemployment in Gozo.
Needless to say, Mr Mizzi failed to mention the fact that more jobs in the tourism sector will be lost if Gozo is smothered by development, as has happened to Malta, in the Balearics, etc.; that Gozitans maybe prefer to have a good quality of life (e.g. enjoy clean bathing water at Hondoq and uncluttered views at Ta' Cenc) rather than a good standard of living, which is often very difficult to quantify in feasibility studies.
Mr Mizzi harps on about cheap labour, which should be kept away from our shores - what about employment in the catering industry that the mega projects he speaks about will generate in the long term? The wages offered in this sector in Gozo are miserly.
What happened to the jobs promised by the proponents of some of the hotels that are being converted into apartment blocks? On the other hand, the site has been committed and lost forever. One should also not bank on the jobs in the construction sector that are being bandied about since these are only short term - the degraded bathing water quality however will be a more durable scar.
This is part of the article. If you want to view the whole article please go to
http://www.timesofmalta.com/core/article.php?id=259792
posted by Hondoq at
4:47 PM
