Karl Stagno-Navarra Almost €4,000 is believed to have been pocketed by major cell phone providers thanks to thousands of ignored SMS messages sent to the Malta Transport Authority from civic-minded citizens who reported polluting cars.
ADT denied pocketing the money through a dedicated SMS number it launched some years ago to report black smoke coming out of cars.
But its spokesperson said service providers GO and Vodafone “benefited from the money.”
A report recently tabled in parliament by the Auditor General lambasted the ADT for ignoring text messages sent in by citizens reporting vehicles emitting excessive fumes and for not having tested any cars during 2008 and 2009.
In replies sent to MaltaToday, ADT said that the SMS service “was never suspended,” admitting that the messages were simply ignored, given that no tests were ever made during the past year, when it was known that the system had reached its peak.
The cost of each SMS sent on 50611899 was €0.05. With approximately 75,000 SMSes that went ignored, both Vodafone and GO are estimated to have benefited from approximately €3,750 between them.
NGO Flimkien Ghal Ambjent Ahjar (FAA) said the fact that ADT did not act on SMS emission complaints by the people “has betrayed the trust people had in this and similar system.”
“Apologies are not enough to limit the damage arising out of this mistake,” FAA said, adding that “had this incident not been revealed, it still would have been clear that ADT is not giving enough importance to the serious health implications of the avoidable pollution in our streets.”
Transport minister Austin Gatt reacted by saying that ADT should assume responsibility for having failed to inform the public that SMS reports of polluting vehicles were not going to be investigated. He ordered ADT to immediately put the system back in place.
In fact, 45 tests are planned to take place daily between tomorrow and Thursday and this will continue until the list of pending reports is depleted.
Notwithstanding this blunder, the minister is insisting that “taking responsibility does not mean resignations at ADT. The public is right to be disappointed that ADT suspended the use of the SMS alert without informing it. I too was disappointed. But one must also take into account that there has been no easing in the enforcement on emissions during this time, and that therefore the suspension of the SMS service would not warrant the dismissal of employees,” Gatt said.
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