I proudly declare that I am one of the 24,000 ignored signatories of the petition to revoke the permit for the development of apartments at the edge of Wied il-Għasel in Mosta.

This decision, and others before it, should lead us to ask whether it makes sense to give up further pristine land for construction, considering we live on a rock of barely 316 square kilometres where 76,000 properties lie vacant.

An article in this newspaper on April 13 penned by Mario de Marco had given us a glimmer of hope: a political will to direct the construction industry away from the construction of further blocks of apartments, especially on pristine land, and towards the rehabilitation of old and vacant buildings to rehabilitate and give life to our village cores.

That political will though still needs to be put into action. It seems that the Malta Environment and Planning Authority still lacks policies with regard to the best use of our very limited space, and urgent political direction is needed in this regard. We cannot allow the rape of our country to go on relentlessly, with the excuse that it’s in the interest of the economy. It’s true that a big chunk of our gross domestic product is dependent on the construction industry. So are thousands of jobs. But that’s something which we should be finding our way out of, and not keep strengthening.

What I found most appalling is that while the government is showing signs of awareness that the construction industry needs to adapt to new realities and shift its focus on the reuse and renovation of existing properties, while the government is working on the Strategic Policy for Environment and Development (SPED) which will determine how we make best use of our land and spaces, while the government is launching initiatives to owners of vacant properties to put them into use, we have an opposition presenting itself as an alternative government, which reportedly promises development permits to those who had problems with Mepa, which promises land reclamation projects which countless studies have concluded to be unfeasible, unsustainable and which increase dependence on property speculation, and which promises to again subsidise applications for construction (contradicting the previously vaunted polluter-pays principle).

Remembering the Dubai tour by Labour MPs before the last election when a number of private contractors also happened to be there, I hope this thorny issue doesn’t end up showcasing one of the main ills and causes of the modern social and economic crisis: the free-market turning into a market-state where centralised economic policies are dictated by politicians who are under the control of the big capitalists who finance them.

I trust in the goodwill of people like the Dr de Marco, and his vision to have the construction industry transform and adapt to today’s realities, safeguarding what’s left of our environment and hopefully stop the property balloon from becoming a threat to our economy.

When supply keeps increasing at a much faster rate than demand, it is obvious that if not acted upon the balloon will sooner or later burst, bringing on an economic crisis similar to what has happened in other countries.

A difficult decision was taken when the government down-sized the dockyards because they had become unsustainable and dependent on our taxes. The construction industry is being subsidised not by our taxes, but by our health and environment. And that makes it much more alarming and urgent to tackle.

To put it bluntly, this country cannot afford its economy to keep on depending so heavily on its unsustainable rape. Otherwise, tomorrow’s New Cuorey won’t be singing about the last farmer of Wied il-Għasel, but about its last tree.