Il-gvern jeħtieġlu jkun aktar effettiv fil-mod kif iħaddem il-kontrolli fuq l-abbużi u biex jistabbilixxi linji ta’ gwida f’setturi ekonomiċi u soċjali li huma kruċjali fil-ħajja tal-poplu. Irid ikun aktar effettiv ukoll f’kif jikkomunika l-għanijiet tiegħu.
Veru li sa issa, politikament ma ġarrabx danni quddiem ċerti nuqqasijiet li qed jispikkaw. Ix-xejriet ta’ ekonomija li baqgħet tavvanza, kif ukoll id-dgħufija u l-firda fratriċida fi ħdan l-Oppożizzjoni jispjegaw dil-ħaġa.
Madankollu, jidher li bil-bidliet imgħaġġla li qed iseħħu f’pajjiżna, m’aħniex inlaħħqu mal-isfidi ta’ governanza li huma ġabu magħhom. U m’inix nirreferi għall-kwistjonijiet pwerili dwar l-hekk imsejħa saltna tad-dritt, li ta’ spiss nintilfu fuqhom, mhux l-anqas bi xprunar mijopiku minn sorsi Ewropej.
Aqwa minn hekk huma l-isfidi ta’ kif se nikkontrollaw u nirregolaw dak li qed jiġri fl-oqsma ambjentali, tal-bini, tat-traffiku, tal-faqar, tat-turiżmu, tas-servizzi finanzjarji, tal-immigrazzjoni, tad-droga, tal-bżonnijiet edukattivi…
STRAMBA
Tanker għaddej mill-golf ta’ Ħormuż iperper bandiera Ingliża, spiċċa sekwestrat minn forżi Iranjani. Veru jew le, dan l-att ġie spjegat bħala tpattija għal kif il-gvern tal-Gran Brittanja kien qabad tanker Iranjan għaddej qrib Ġibilta għax intqal, qed jikser is-sanzjonijiet kontra s-Sirja.
Li rajt stramb kien kif kważi minnufih wara, ir-Renju Unit ippropona li tintbagħat forza navali “Ewropea” biex tħares vapuri li jkunu għaddejja mill-Ħormuż. Stramb għax ir-Renju Unit sa issa kien dejjem kontra l-ħolqien ta’ xi driegħ ta’ difiża armata Ewropea, separata min-NATO. Kif issa, kien qed iressaq dil-proposta?
Jidher li l-proposta qiegħda tiġi diskussa ma’ Franza u l-Ġermanja. Min-NATO, qalu li huma ma kinux involuti fid-diskussjonijiet. Sadattant, baqgħet għaddejja t-telenovela tal-Brexit (!).
TOKYO EXPRESS
Ir-rumanz polizjesk “Tokyo Express” ta’ Seicho Matsumoto, wieħed mill-klassiċi Ġappuniżi f’dan il-ġeneru ta’ kitba, juri kif jinkixef qtil immuntat bħala suwiċidju ta’ koppja. Il-mejta jinstabu fuq il-kosta tal-gżira l-aktar fin-nofsinhar tal-arċipelago Ġappuniż. Donnhom telqu flimkien minn Tokyo fiċ-ċentru tal-arċipelago biex b’patt volontarju jixorbu flimkien sugu tal-larinġ imħawwar bl-arseniku.
Min jimmonta din il-ġrajja jipprovdi alibi għalih u opportunitajiet biex oħrajn jifhmu x’ġara skont dak li jridhom jifhmu, billi juża l-iskedi komplikati tal-ferroviji Ġappuniżi. Hu jidher hemm u hawn, u juri lill-vittmi tiegħu hawn u hemm. Kollox ippernjat dwar il-ħtieġa li jitneħħa impjegat ewlieni f’ministeru tal-gvern fejn qed jinkixfu borom ta’ korruzjoni.
Didektiv anzjan fil-lok fejn seħħ il-qtil doppju, u ieħor imġarrab ibbażat f’Tokyo jħollu t-taħwida maħluqa mix-xibka ta’ kif u meta jitilqu jew jaslu t-trennijiet. Hu rumanz miktub b’mod mexxej u interessanti.
English Version – Controls and guidelines
The government needs to become more effective in how it operates to control abuses and to establish guidelines in economic and social sectors which are crucial in national affairs. It also needs to be more effective when communicating its aims and targets.
It is clear that up to now, politically it was not negatively affected by some weaknesses that have become increasingly salient. This is due to the feelgood repercussions in an economy that continues to grow, as well as to the incompetence and the fratricidal strife within the Opposition.
Still, the truth seems to be that given the changes which are happening so swiftly in the country at large, we are not meeting the challenges of governance that these same changes have given rise to. And this without any reference to the puerile topics concerning the so-called rule of law, that we frequently spend too much time on, not least after having been prodded in such direction by myopic European sources.
In a more fundamental manner, the challenges that need to be faced concern how we are to control and to elaborate guidelines for what is happening in sectors such as the environment, construction, traffic, poverty, tourism, financial services, immigration, drugs, educational needs…
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Curious
A tanker flying the British flag and going through the strait of Hormuz was impounded by Iranian forces. Rightly or wrongly, this action was explained as a response to sort of pay back in kind for the seizure by the British authorities of an Iranian tanker passing close to Gibraltar. The British had claimed the latter was in breach of UN sanctions against Syria.
What I found curious in this story was how almost immediately the UK proposed that a “European” naval force be sent to Hormuz to provide security for ships navigating the strait. It was curious because up to now, the UK has been steadfastly against the creation of some European defence force separate from NATO. How come that now, it was advancing such a proposal?
It appears that the matter is being discussed with France and Germany while NATO for its part has clarified that the Organization is not involved in the discussions. Meanwhile, the Brexit soap opera continued to unfold (!).
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Tokyo Express
Seicho Matsumoto’s police thriller “Tokyo Express”, a Japanese classic of its genre, dissects how a murder staged to look like the suicide of a couple was revealed and resolved. The murdered duo are discovered on the beach of the southernmost island in the Japanese archipelago. They appear to have departed together from Tokyo at the centre of the archipelago, to carry out a voluntary pact to commit suicide together by drinking orange juice laced with arsenic.
The murderer who set up this scenario takes care to provide an alibi for himself as well as opportunities for other people to witness and understand the goings on in the frame he established. To do so, he exploited the complicated schedules of the Japanese railway system, so that he placed himself here and there, while his victims were to be found there and there, all at the right time. The whole point of the exercise was to eliminate a leading employee in a government ministry where a huge corruption scandal was brewing.
A veteran detective at the place where the double murder was committed and an experienced police investigator in Tokyo team up to unravel the complicated puzzle put together out of trains’ arrival and departure times. The novel is written in a crisp style that makes for interesting reading.
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