24 February 2007 Rating 13% No Comment  

The Ramblers Association of Malta (RAM) staged a protest outside the Munxar Local Council Office yesterday, the association were protesting against the construction of the concrete road which was recently carried out on the cliffs at Sanap. The association said, "the Rambler's Association of Malta strongly condemns the recent works carried out by the Munxar Local Council on the cliffs at is-Sanap, Gozo. It seems that, after the quarry-sand pollution at Mgarr ix-Xini some years ago, local councils are vying with each other to wreak irreversible damage on the natural environment. This time, The Munxar council decided to lay a concrete pathway on pristine cliffs. One can imagine the impossible task of bringing the cliffside back to the state it was in before this act of sheer vandalism. This sort of thing, coming from people in authority, boggles the mind and beggars description. In the light of this latest large-scale vandalism, RAM feels the authorities need to answer some questions: Are local councils being run by complete dilettantes and amateurs? What are the Mayor and Secretary doing in the council? Has a complete ignorance of the law become a prerequisite for local councillors? Or is this simply an act of sheer and crass arrogance from people who do not care an iota about the sensibilities of the general population? What is the Local Council Association doing about this blatant disregard of regulations? What action is the central government going to take? Can local councils totally disregard the rule of the land and get away scot-free? What message does the ordinary citizen get from this behaviour? Is the message simply that accountability is nonexistent in these islands? In this serious case of flouting of the law, the transgressors should be financially penalised and their position in the council terminated forthwith. The fines should be hefty enough to serve as a deterrent, and should come out of their personal pockets, and not from our taxes."