Standing up to the greedy few

The four PA board members who voted in favour of the db project are close to the Labour Party.

The Planning Authority recently approved the controversial dB Group’s mega development of a 12-storey hotel, two 17- and 18-storey residential towers and other retail facilities on the former ITS site. With this deci-sion, the government has not only sold a strategic landmark for a pittance but is going to fork out an additional €40 million from taxpayers’ money to relocate and build another ITS.

Initially, this monstrosity was approved in 2018, only to be sent back to the drawing board a year later. The court had found that Matthew Pace, one of the PA members who voted in favour and who is today facing money laundering charges, had a potential financial interest in it being approved.

Seven board members took part in the vote after the other five members decided to recuse themselves, citing a possible conflict of interest. The project was narrowly approved, with four votes in favour and three against.

The three members who stood up to be counted stressed that there were big question marks linked to the project, in particular the tunnel leading to the development. On the other hand, the other four members – Martin Camilleri, Saviour Debono Grech, Sean Mangion and Duncan Mifsud – followed the prepared script and voted in favour. It is pertinent to point out that these four board members are close to the Labour Party.

With the exclusion of the chairman, Camilleri, the other three sat silently stone faced throughout. They did not utter one single word. They had no questions to ask. They re-quested no further clarification. All was clear to them. When their time came to vote, they uttered: “yes, I approve”. Although I have nothing personal against them, I find their behaviour demeaning. The case officer did his part to impress that the project had been down-scaled and was in accordance with current planning policies. Conveniently, he failed to mention the cumulative effect on the locality and its surroundings.

It is becoming convenient for the PA to choose which policies to adhere to and which not to. For example, in the Balluta fast ferry application, the case officer did not bother to follow the current policies, which clearly state Balluta Bay is a bay and not a commercial port for commercial 33-metre-long catamarans to enter/exit 22 times daily. A case of two weights and two measures? Nothing new.

But back to the db mega project. During the hearing, all members of the public who were present lashed out against this application. I myself raised the following points.

We must stop taking a piece-meal approach to planning. We urgently need to draw a holistic master plan, taking into consideration the cumulative effect that such mega developments have on the locality.

Notwithstanding that the defunct Paceville master plan was shelved, all the mentioned developments were still approved, one after the other. We need to ask if all these mega developments are truly necessary. Do we have the required physical and social infrastructure?

The National Audit Office has cast serious doubts on the “regularity” of the tender for the disposal of public land. That Konrad Mizzi was the then negotiating minister is another triviality (sic!). The Malta Chamber also raised similar concerns.

This development will generate significant commercial activity and traffic. Although the government has committed itself to construct a tunnel, there are no feasibility studies yet and no information as to who will foot the bill. It is illogical to first construct a mega development and only then construct a tunnel. Common sense dictates the reverse.

Finally, I reminded the board that three councils representing approximately 30,000 people oppose this project. How can four people overrule 30,000 residents and 17,000 others who presented written objections and 59.9 per cent of those interviewed in the social impact assessment? How can four politically appointed members feel secure enough to go against the will of approximately 50,000 objectors? If the Planning Authority fails to take note of these numbers, why bother holding a public consultation? This is pure arrogance.

An appeal has been filed. As mayor of St Julian’s and as an election candidate, I will continue raising my voice without trepidation to uphold the common good.

Politics is not about the self-interest of the few but about the well-being of the many.

Together we can stand up to the greedy few.

(This article was published on Times of Malta – 8 July, 2021)