More 'haxi' from the FAA
On its website, FAA lists someone called Paul Cardona as its chairman. The island isn’t exactly teeming with men called Paul Cardona. I wonder if that’s the same Paul Cardona who signed this letter carried in The Times today. That would make his last paragraph devious rather than disingenuous – and it would make this letter yet more FAA ‘haxi’.
If he isn’t the same Paul Cardona, then the FAA chairman should immediately put our minds at rest that he isn’t trying to pose as a concerned ordinary citizen.
But if this Paul Cardona is FAA’s chairman, then we have to put his words into context, particularly the ones that accuse others of “lack of professionalism”. And we have to ask why The Times did not add a note to his letter specifying that Mr Paul Cardona is chairman of Flimkien Ghal Ambjent Ahjar.
The Times, Tuesday, 17th February 2009
Cathedral museum: Questions and lessonsPaul L. Cardona, Madliena
I refer to the continuing saga of St John’s Co-Cathedral and to the statement made by all six members of the foundation who have declared that they see no reason why they should resign.
As a Maltese citizen who has the well-being of my country at heart I would ask each of the six foundation members the following question:
Were they aware of the technical reports, all of which were against this project? If they were not aware then they were not competent enough to be members of the foundation which is there to safeguard this gem.
If, on the other hand, they were conscious of these technical reports and they pushed the project as they have done, then they have acted irresponsibly and also hid the truth from the public. In both cases these six members of the foundation should not be trusted with the well-being of St John’s Co-Cathedral.
It has also been said that it was a pity that the experts were not allowed to decide on the matter in the EIA. I am sorry to say that the EIA comes at the end of a long process. It would have been much more prudent to commission proper technical studies at the beginning of the process, i.e. a series of geological studies should have been carried out before the development of the idea. This would have shown the dangers that the structure of the cathedral would have been exposed to and this whole folly could have been avoided. However, none of the plans shown to the public related to the stability of the bedrock under the cathedral.
The foundation has shown a lack of professionalism which makes it unsuitable to guard over one of the top heritage sites we have on this island. They should do the honourable thing and leave.
These six gentlemen have also let down the official bodies that appointed them to the foundation, i.e. the government and the Church.
Perhaps some good will come out of this whole saga. Should we not have proper procedures drawn up on what is to be done and what professional studies need to be carried out before any project that involves our heritage is taken in hand? We cannot rely on well-meaning but non-professional people anymore. We also need to have tighter control on the spending of money which is used to pursue such pharoanic projects.
17 Comments Comment
Leave a Comment
“Should we not have proper procedures drawn up on what is to be done and what professional studies need to be carried out before any project that involves our heritage is taken in hand?”
That’s a curious statement. Isn’t that exactly the sort of thing that the FAA objected to in the case of St John’s co-Cathedral?
The gentleman cannot distinguish between an opinion and a professional technical report on the specific site. If, as you’re suspecting, Mr Cardona is the chairperson of FAA, then they are really dilettanti. The gentlemen running the Foundation were asking specifically for a professional technical report before they embarked on the implementation of the project. But FAA objected to the legal process! I wonder how many of the ladies and gentlemen who signed the FAA “petition” knew what they were signing for. One of the leading comments on the FAA website states:”If this government goes ahead with its declared plans … to enable the St John’s Cathedral Foundation to ignore all the protests and warnings regarding its intention to create a large museum under our prime historic monument, I shall have to join the growing band of people who accuse it of creeping arrogance.” Which foundation ever intended “to create a large museum UNDER our prime historic monument”? Even people with a “doctorate” have been misled. What a pity!
The greatest pity is that this project was torpedoed exactly when we could have had very useful info through the EIA studies. But then this was nothing but a personal vendetta on Astrid’s part. I wonder if she is going to make the same crusade on the proposal to dig up the Main Guard to provide an underground car-park or if she is going to put on her Joan of Arc costume when they dig out the storm-water tunnel under Villa Francia in Lija, which is also a highly protected building.
Also, has anyone checked if the MEPA officers are actually saying what Astrid is saying that they are saying? After all, they work in a context and do not have the freedom of going public.
“We cannot rely on well-meaning but non-professional people anymore.”
…and what precisely is the FAA?
I would be grateful if this comment, which The Times seems not to want to upload, is posted here. Thanks.
@ Mrs Vella, the only “undue pressure” exerted here was by your organisation, aided and abetted by some sulky backbenchers and the MLP. So now you are also taking it upon yourself to decide which project should have an environmental impact assessment or not? It’s a developer’s right, not yours, to commission an EIA and submit it to the planning authority.
As regards “undue pressure”, it is you who are to blame here, not me, or anyone of the silent majority who feel cheated out of a project and who will not be held to ransom by your organisation and its nebulous membership. St John’s is not Mosta. You are equating the two when clearly you do not understand the first thing about development and excavation. I do.
Someone has to stand up to you, and they are doing so already. You have pushed things too far. People are beginning to see that your FAA is not serious. Please carry on writing so that we will be more convinced of the double standards that you employ in your campaigns. You have ruined the possibility of a perfectly good project with your empty notions of “buried heroes” (an untruth), secret passages (more untruth) and supposedly “expert” opinions. The country will blame you for it. EUR16 million in investment have been lost, and for all your talk of “re-routing”, you bloody well know it. No more half-truths. As for The Times: you have a duty to see that whatever you report or quote is the truth. An on-line petition signed by 700 people, many of them anonymous and the rest without addresses or personal signatures, is not a petition.
It is indeed the Paul L. Cardona who is the chairman of the FAA. He is an eminent marine engineer. But it seems his qualifications extend to much beyond that!
“We cannot rely on well-meaning but non-professional” – wasn’t this your point?
[Daphne – Yes. But the FAA chairman appears not to see the terrible irony of his words.]
Min jaf kemm qed tiehu gost Astrid Vella b’din il-promotion kollha, u iktar tissahhah. Issa jasal progett iehor u kif tiftah halqha Astrid jaqa’ mill-ewwel. Just wait and see.
[Daphne – That’s exactly what I’m saying. But it’s only because she’s entered into a union of ginger people with you-know-who, and with a couple of axe-grinders on the other side. Without them, she’s nothing. I wonder what it feels like, being dependent on the help of pieces of sh*t like former police inspector Anglu Farrugia. How lacking in dignity and integrity – honestly.]
Daphne, in response to your question as to why nobody in the press thought to ask for the petition, it’s all tied to the debate on mediocrity that you brought up yesterday. Investigative reporting doesn’t seem to be one of the local journalistic scene’s fortes. They prefer to reduce journalism to just echoing whatever (often self-imposed) public figures state rather than going into any depth. And that is mediocre.
What irks me so much about the St.John’s controversy is not so much the lost money, but the way in which party politics (on both sides!) and media have embraced the situation and allowed FAA a voice way out of proportion to their stature. I sincerely hope that the-loudest-idiot-way of doing things does not fall under the term “public consultation” being thrown about blindly by both government and opposition. Public consultation (of anybody about anything) is doomed to result in mediocrity.
I also have the well being of our nation, not only valletta, but the whole nation at heart. but I will never stoop so low as to oppose ALL kinds of projects without hearing all views pro and con. Finally I accept the fact that those who are totally responsible accept this responsibility, after having taken all views and expert advice (not from FAA or other NGOs who are just there to shoot from the hip).
@Giancarlo (‘Investigative reporting doesn’t seem to be one of the local journalistic scene’s fortes. ‘).
Just look at the local English-language press (I don’t include the Maltese papers for the simple reason they are just political propaganda), and you see that they are just carbon-copies reproducing statements and press releases. No attempt at investigative analysis. One newby paper purports to publish investigations which amount to nothing more than muck-raking.
[Daphne – Except that Malta Today noticeably failed to rake any muck on Bastjan Dalli, and drew a veil of discreet silence over the whole affair. Bastjan Dalli? Who he? Malta Today doesn’t know – just as it doesn’t know that its editor got a whacking great load of EU funding for an anti-bird-hunting campaign, and has so far done nothing with it except put up a few billboards. http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20090215/local/former-eu-negotiator-involved-in-anti-trapping-campaign%5D
An eminent maritime engineer taken in by Astrid Vella and co., Bloody hell, whatever next? I think they should all go back to the bingo table.
Daphne, I am quoting the annals of history here so please give me a chance to refer to it. Short people have always featured prominently in the list of dictators, despots and pompous asses, not least in Malta.
I wonder what the anthropological reason is for this….
[Daphne – The list of short people also gave us Eddie Fenech Adami and Lawrence Gonzi, and the list of tall people gave us the horrid and vulgar Lino Cassar. So I’m not complaining. But you have a point: I’ve noticed that the shorter people are, the more they want to be noticed. The most irritating girls at school were the shortest ones, and the shortest one of all was Norman Lowell’s girlfriend. Anyway, practically everyone in Malta is short, so….but then again, maybe that’s just why we’re such a razza tal-pruzuntuzi.]
Malta Today is ‘selectively’ investigative……..which is a contradiction in terms. Bet you they’ll never investigate a certain minister and his cronies especially as that paper openly backed him in the run-up to the party leadership. Think about it, the name of the game is credibility and even The Times is getting close to losing its reputation of being Malta’s most reliable newspaper. No b.s, I seriously think this is the only Commentary site which comes close to giving its readers the full picture.
Tony Pace – Short People
Could not resist posting this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZSCrK0XQmw&feature=related
Good version!
Daphne, your note on short people is generally correct, and it applies across different cultures. I have worked with numerous colleagues from various countries, and the ‘noisiest’ ones are the shorter ones, even though one cannot really generalise.
Similar to Mario Debono, I have also wrote a mild comment on the Times which has not been uploaded. Looks like the Times is shielding the defenceless and tiny Astrid from crticism.
Apologies to Drs. Fenech Adami and Gonzi. I certainly did not mean them to be the butt of a joke, firstly because it was not a joke, and secondly because their political stature as well as their other qualities to match, more than make up for their ‘medium’ height.
Plus I specifically mentioned “dictators, despots and pompous asses”, and these two gentlemen definitely do not fall in that league.
But as to FAA………….let’s have a petition :)
Hey Andrea, you always hit the nail on the head. Great song, 30 years old, a surprise hit which apparently had offended a lot of ‘short’ radio listeners until they got Randy Newman’s brand of irony in the lyrics.
Now here’s the twist………..the name of the album is
”Little Criminals”. How very apt :)