Malta fl-aħħar post fl-UE anke fit-trattament tad-drenaġġ
Minn mudell Ewropew għal falliment totali taħt il-Labour
Malta fl-aħħar post fl-UE anke fit-trattament tad-drenaġġ Minn mudell Ewropew għal falliment totali taħt il-Labour
Waqt li fl-2023, 80.7% tal-popolazzjoni tal-UE kienet konnessa ma’ sistemi ta’ trattament tad-drenaġġ, Malta waqgħet għal livell miżeru ta’ 7.1% – kuntrast qawwi mal-kisbiet li saru sa 13-il sena ilu.
Malta llum tinsab fl-aħħar post fl-Unjoni Ewropea fejn jidħol it-trattament tad-drenaġġ, f’sitwazzjoni li turi d-deterjorament kbir li seħħ f’dan is-settur vitali f'dawn l-aħħar 13-il sena.
Skont statistika tal-Eurostat ippubblikata għall-Jum Dinji tal-Ilma, il-medja tal-UE għat-trattament sekondarju tad-drenaġġ telgħet għal 80.7% fl-2023.
Madankollu, Malta mhux biss tinsab 'il bogħod ħafna minn pajjiżi bħall-Olanda (99.6%) u l-Awstrija (99.1%), iżda tinsab ukoll f’distakk enormi minn pajjiżi li kienu warajna, bħar-Rumanija (54.7%) u l-Irlanda (65.7%).
L-ironija hija li Malta ma kinitx dejjem f’din il-pożizzjoni. Fil-fatt, kien grazzi għall-viżjoni u l-investiment ta’ Gvern Nazzjonalista li, fl-2011, Malta saret l-ewwel pajjiż fil-Mediterran li kien qed jittratta d-drenaġġ kollu tiegħu qabel ma jintefa' fil-baħar. Dak iż-żmien, Malta kienet meqjusa bħala mudell għall-bqija tal-Ewropa b’rata ta’ konnessjoni u konformità li kienet qrib il-100%.
L-istess statistika tal-Eurostat fl-2011 kienet turi li din ir-rata f’Malta dakinhar kienet taqbeż id-90%. Mill-2014 ’l hawn, din ir-rata bdiet dejjem nieżla sa ma niżlet għar-rekord negattiv ta’ 7.1% biss fl-2023, wara 10 snin ta’ Gvern Laburista.
Dan ġara minħabba:
Nuqqas ta' investiment: Is-sistema ma ġietx imtejba biex tlaħħaq maż-żieda qawwija fil-popolazzjoni
Nuqqas ta' manutenzjoni: L-impjanti tħallew jiddgħajfu, b’konsegwenza li l-kwalità tat-trattament waqgħet drastikament.
Waqt li l-medja Ewropea żdiedet bi 3.4 punti perċentwali mill-2013 sal-lum, Malta għamlet pass kbir lura. Minn pajjiż li kien fil-quċċata tal-klassifika qabel l-2013, illum ninsabu umiljati b’rata ta’ 7.1% biss. Din il-waqgħa hija xhieda ta' kif il-Gvern Laburista abbanduna l-ambjent u s-saħħa tal-baħar tagħna, u kif anke f’xi ħaġa daqshekk bażika għandna Gvern li jimxi b’management-by-crisis.
Din l-istatistika dwar it-trattament tad-drenaġġ, flimkien mal-fatt li skont statistika oħra li ħarġet aktar kmieni din il-ġimgħa stess Malta tinsab fl-aħħar post ukoll fl-enerġija li tiġġedded b’16% biss, tkompli tħammar wiċċ il-Gvern Laburista u tikkonferma li f’dawn l-aħħar 13-il sena, il-pajjiż tilef id-direzzjoni tiegħu lejn l-iżvilupp sostenibbli u l-kwalità tal-ħajja li jixirqilhom il-Maltin u l-Għawdxin.
L-istatistika dwar il-popolazzjoni Ewropea konnessa ma’ sistemi tat-trattament tad-drenaġġ hija importanti għax tindika xi progress qed isir mill-UE b’rabta mal-Miri għall-Iżvilupp Sostenibbli fejn għandu x’jaqsam mal-ilma nadif, l-iġjene u s-sanità, bl-iskop li titjieb il-kwalità tal-ilma u l-effiċjenza fl-użu ta’ dan ir-riżors imprezzabbli.
Mark Anthony Sammut Shadow Minister għall-Enerġija u l-Konservazzjoni tal-Ilma
Rebekah Borg Shadow Minister għall-Ambjent
Eve Borg Bonello Shadow Minister għat-Tibdil fil-Klima u l-Indafa Pubblika
25.03.2026
- Mehmuża grafika li turi (1) kif Malta tinsab fl-aħħar post fl-UE għat-trattament tad-drenaġġ, u (2) kif minn 90.0% fl-2011 r-rata f’Malta niżlet għal 7.1% fl-2023
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Malta ranks last in the EU also in wastewater treatment From a European model to total failure under Labour
While in 2023, 80.7% of the EU population was connected to wastewater treatment systems, Malta has fallen to a dismal level of just 7.1% – a stark contrast to the achievements reached up to 13 years ago.
Malta today ranks last in the European Union in wastewater treatment, a situation that highlights the significant deterioration that has taken place in this vital sector over the past 13 years.
According to Eurostat statistics published for World Water Day, the EU average for secondary wastewater treatment rose to 80.7% in 2023.
However, Malta is not only far behind countries such as the Netherlands (99.6%) and Austria (99.1%), but is also at a considerable distance from countries that were once behind us, such as Romania (54.7%) and Ireland (65.7%).
The irony is that Malta was not always in this position. In fact, it was thanks to the vision and investment of a Nationalist Government that, in 2011, Malta became the first country in the Mediterranean to treat all its wastewater before discharging it into the sea. At that time, Malta was regarded as a model for the rest of Europe, with connection and compliance rates close to 100%.
The same Eurostat statistics for 2011 showed that Malta’s rate at the time exceeded 90%. Since 2014, however, this rate has been in continuous decline, reaching a record low of just 7.1% in 2023, after 10 years of a Labour Government.
This occurred due to:
Lack of investment: the system was not upgraded to keep pace with the sharp increase in population
Lack of maintenance: treatment plants were allowed to deteriorate, leading to a drastic drop in treatment quality
While the European average increased by 3.4 percentage points from 2013 to today, Malta has taken a significant step backwards. From a country that ranked at the top of the table before 2013, we are now left humiliated with a rate of just 7.1%. This decline is evidence of how the Labour Government has abandoned the environment and the health of our seas, and how even in something so fundamental we have a Government operating on a management-by-crisis approach.
This statistic on wastewater treatment, together with the fact that, according to other statistics published earlier this week, Malta also ranks last in renewable energy with just 16%, further exposes the Labour Government’s failures and confirms that over the past 13 years, the country has lost its direction towards sustainable development and the quality of life that the Maltese and Gozitan people deserve.
Statistics on the European population connected to wastewater treatment systems are important as they indicate the progress being made by the EU in relation to the Sustainable Development Goals on clean water, hygiene and sanitation, with the aim of improving water quality and the efficiency in the use of this invaluable resource.
Mark Anthony Sammut Shadow Minister for Energy and Water Conservation
Rebekah Borg Shadow Minister for the Environment
Eve Borg Bonello Shadow Minister for Climate Change and Public Cleanliness
25.03.2026
– Attached are a graphic showing (1) how Malta ranks last in the EU in wastewater treatment, and (2) how Malta’s rate declined from 90.0% in 2011 to 7.1% in 2023