So it was all hot air in the end. Four years after its introduction in 2005, we are now told that the ‘SMS alert’ initiative has proved ineffectual... not because too few vehicles were reported by concerned citizens, but because the Malta Transport Authority (ADT) has unaccountably failed to take appropriate action when faced with a considerable number of complaints.
In fact, were it not for this failure on the part of the authority, the exercise would have been an unprecedented success.
Judging by the popular response, it seems that Malta boasts far more committed, civic-minded citizens than the country is ever credited with. Not only were private individuals willing to participate in the scheme in surprising numbers, but they also proved (if further evidence were still needed) that environmentalist awareness in Malta has progressed in leaps and bounds over the past decade.
From this perspective, the ADT’s failure to deliver on the second, crucial step in the initiative - i.e., taking action regarding complaints of polluting vehicles – is doubly tragic. Not only did the authority seriously let the public down by ignoring its complaints for a whole year; but it also succeeded in denting this otherwise commendable faith in the system... creating the impression that such civic-mindedness is ultimately futile, in a country which clearly does not appreciate such concerns at government levels.
From this perspective, yesterday’s announcement that the ADT now intends to carry out 45 tests a day, on vehicles reported by the public over SMS over the last few months, is a classic case of ‘too little, too late’.
Not so much because the tests themselves are superfluous – they are not, and in fact the sooner they get under way the better – but rather, because last week’s revelation has inevitably undermined confidence in the general functioning of Malta’s myriad quangos and government departments: many of which seem to take action only when compelled to do so by precisely such ‘scandals’.
Example are too rife to list out exhaustively here, but one that springs most readily to mind is the ban on smoking in public places – announced in a blind rush to become Europe’s second member state after Ireland to introduce such a policy.
In spite of numerous pleas by the GRTU to exempt bars from the exercise, the law was duly introduced, stipulating draconian fines in the event of non-compliance. And yet, only a few years later this law is plainly not being enforced, as a cursory visit to any random place of entertainment will attest.
Another initiative to spectacularly self-combust shortly after its introduction – this time also related to the automotive industry – was the infamous “breathalyser test” in the 1990s.
This initiative is a sine qua non throughout the developed world, intended to curb drink-driving and all its associated ills. As with the smoking ban, the original announcement was met with fierce resistance... and yet, a decade later, the use of breathalyser apparatus during roadside checks remains almost entirely unheard of in this country.
Instead, breathalysers appear to be used only after an accident has already occurred – which is the equivalent of locking the barn door long, log after the horse has already bolted.
Coming back to the SMS Emissions Alert, and what we saw last week was another case of a well-meaning initiative allowed to stall at execution stage, with tragic consequences for public faith in national institutions. And as usual in such circumstances, it is debatable in the extreme whether we would ever have found out at all, had the Auditor General not tabled his report on the Vehicle Emissions Control Scheme in parliament last week.
Predictably, this damning report elicited a chorus of media disapproval, prompting the ADT to issue a rather half-hearted apology “for having had to temporarily suspend the SMS-generated emissions tests.”
But the apology also came with a proviso: “(ADT) feels obliged to point out that, for the duration of the suspension of the SMS-generated emissions tests, vehicular emission testing was still and is still being carried out through VRT testing, road-side and random checks on private, passenger-carrying and goods-carrying vehicles.”
Unfortunately, such defensive argumentation misses the wood for the trees. The real issue is not whether any form of emissions testing was or is being carried out; the real issue is that the general public has been taken for a ride, and is understandably disillusioned as a result.
At this point, the ideal response from the ADT would be to follow through with its apology by making a concerted effort to address the issue of air pollution on account of vehicle emissions.
After all, we have had more than enough words, and far too little in the way of action.
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