Today’s four editorials tackle four separate aspects, from reforms in the police force to environmental concerns, and from Malta’s interests to smuggling.
The Times of Malta discusses again issues of credibility within the police force, but insists new commissioner Angelo Gafà, deserves to be given a fair chance to do what he says he is confident can be done: restore people’s trust “by time” and “when they start seeing results”. Time, unfortunately, is not on his side. The Editor re-iterates calls from various quarters for the police to seriously investigate and prosecute people in high places, whose names have surfaced in corruption cases and in Daphne Caruana Galizia’s murder, went mainly unheeded as one officer handed over the reins of the police force to another.
The Independent tackles the issue of environmental degradation, and looks at the possibility of introducing environmental rangers as one possible solution. The Editor says that the government already has a department tasked with cleaning up areas filled with rubbish, but perhaps the time has come to take the next step in prevention. This is where such rangers could come in, guarding Malta’s green areas and preventing such dumping in the first place. However, the improvement of the quality of our environment will also depend on a change in habits of the Maltese population rather than solely through enforcement.
L-Orizzont argues that Malta’s interests should always come first, referring to recent debates on a European level where representatives of the Maltese Government pointed their fingers at politicians from the Opposition who brought up local transgressions in Brussels. The Editor acknowledges a number of failures but insists that Malta’s dirty laundry should not be brought up at international level.
In-Nazzjon says that illegal smuggling has raised its ugly head once again while highlighting Customs’ efforts to stop such activities, with recent results achieved at Malta’s airport and seaport. It also refers to contraband products found in shops in most localities around the island.
