Online petition for joint stand against illegal boathouses launched

Angelo Vassallo

Aug 1st 2012, 16:09

Emmanuel Ebejer said that he been enjoying his boathouse since 1973.

Meaning that, it all started under the premiership of the lejburist dom mintoff. Another froga frogun lejburista of the 70's.

Angelo Vassallo

Aug 1st 2012, 16:03

@ Dr. Joseph Grech Attard

M'ghandekx ghalfejn thabbel rasek ghalhekk. Xi darba kollha kienu 'illegal' boathouses". Tidher li inti ghandek xi "boathouse" minnhom u ma tridx lil "dear leader" joseph muscat li tant taqbez ghalih f'din il-pagna, li jikkommetti ruhhu ghalija din l-bicca tax-xoghol, ghax jitlef hafna voti.

Philip Mizzi

Aug 1st 2012, 12:27

Here is a chance to show our weak political parties (PL and PN) that we are irritated and annoyed by squatters (those that are occupying public land). Let us show that this shame has been going on too long and that ALL illegally aquired public land must be given back to us (the Maltese people in general). Let us show them that we too ARE VOTERS (ghax dawn il-voti l-ewwel) and that our votes count as well!

Signing the petition online will take only a minute but we will make our voices heard. I for one, declare that I will only vote for the party (or candidiiate) that declares clear committment to do something effective to give back this land to the public.

Imisshom jisthu biex hallew stupra bhal dan jibqa ghaddejj!

Seamus Riolo

Aug 1st 2012, 12:25

LOL.. Helwin intom in nies imma.. nahseb kullhad idejqu li jara il bini go zona naturali u publika hdejn il bahar.. imma intom daqsek 'delusional' li et tahsbu jek iwaqaw dawn it taparsi "boathouses" se jkolna lura in natura? Andkom l icken dubju li dawn mali jzulu min em mux ha jigu il kumpaniji il kbar u jtelaw bini kbir u jkerhu hafna iktar mili et ikerhu dawn l erba bicca gebliet li andom in nies??

Ifthu mohkom... ek vera jogbkom l ambjent u in natura u ma tridux tkerhu pajizkom... ahjar erba bicca geblit imbaraz bhal mandom dawn mili blokijiet kbar tal bini min kumpaniji kbir.. ax ma dawk in nies il kbar alxejn tamel il petintions imbad :)

Alkem jien nipreferi li il post ikun naturali kem jista, inteligenti biz zejjed li naf li ahjar ek mili bil bini il kbir ikerhilna pajiz hafna iktar ;)

H. Galea (NRK)

Aug 1st 2012, 08:17

If I should ever exceed my parking time by a few minutes, I should be sure to find a lovely ticket on the windscreen with the compliments of ….. ! Fair enough, I am not complaining. Mea culpa !
…. But if I should choose a patch of land which belongs to the community and just decide to lay a few ‘ċnagen’ and construct myself a couple of rooms – then it may be assumed that all will be OK with the so-called AUTHORITIES …. MEPA , and the cheap local political setup …. Partit Nazzionalista fil-Gvern, Partit Laburista fl-Oppozizzjoni u Alternattiva Demokratika fl-Oppozizzjoni !!!
I ask whether it is at all possible for the average decent and honest citizen to permit for much longer, that a group of elected persons assume the liberty of allowing such obscene and blatant daylight misappropriation of land belonging to me and you and the rest of us !
Isn’t it time for the Parties of this Country to get serious and decide to prove their good intentions, by uniting (policy-wise, ofcourse) for the common good ? how ? very simple … all of them to agree to pull down any illegal structure within three months of the election results – be it one party or the other – whoever gets elected.
If the present Government does really have ‘par idejn sodi’ , here is THE classical example to prove it – 2 weeks notice for the squatters to vacate, followed by an IMMEDIATE leveling action of half a dozen bulldozers. Bella e finita … Sic transit Gloria mundi !

A. Borg

Aug 1st 2012, 07:37

Dawk tat telgha li mill-Ghadira tiehdok lejn ic-Cirkewwa li mizbughin kollha hodor li uhud minnhom anke dish tas-satellita ghandhom imwahhal mall-faccata li huma koroh izjed minn dawgha b'Alla dawk illegali wkoll? Jekk le.kif naghmel biex nakwista wahda?

Ms.D. Galea

Jul 31st 2012, 23:46

Why should anyone expect the authorities to legalize the illegal aquisition of PUBLIC land especially when such property is not being used for the PUBLIC good and especially when there has been UNAUTHORIZED change of use , from a BOAT house to a regular residence?

fredu debono

Jul 31st 2012, 23:21

jista xi hadd jghidilna jew jispjegalna meta l-boathouses illegali li hemm fl-armier se jigu mwaqqa. dik l-art hi tieghi daqs kemm hi taghhom. jekk ma jwaqqahhomx il-gvern ghandu jaghti bicca art lill kull malti mhux ilu dawn is-snin kollha jaghttilhom.

Borg D

Jul 31st 2012, 23:19

I hope that the "owners" will be charged for occupying land which is not theirs. A yearly incremental fee going back to 1992 should be applied.

Bet alas.....we live in a comic country with clowns acting in the "interest" of our country. The worst enemies of this country of ours are the politicians themselves and the "puppies" that follow them!

A Caruana

Jul 31st 2012, 23:15

None of the parties will take action as they will lose votes! This is like with the hunters. Take the law into your own hands in Malta and you get what you want, go by the book and follow the rules and you get nowhere unless you have a local saint in Parliament!

Joe Morana

Jul 31st 2012, 18:45

How can any Government and/or Opposition worth their salt for that matter, keep silent and abdicate their responsibility by allowing illegal practices such as the boat houses at Armier, St Thomas Bay and other places to prevail. This is an insult (oltragg) versu law abiding citizens.
Shame on (both PN & LP) your Houses

Joseph N. Attard

Jul 31st 2012, 18:32

Some contributors below taunt us by telling us "Sour Grapes", and that they have enjoyed their boathouse for over thirty years. And they are right to gloat, of course, seeing that all these years no politician has lifted a finger to rectify the situation. But our feeble reply can only be that most Maltese are law abiding citizens. Alien as the thought might be for these people, not everybody is prepared to steal land which belongs to the community. A more robust response can only be legal, such as signing the petition above, and vowing to vote for any party which irrevocably promises to eradicate these enviornmental disasters once and for all.

Henry S Pace

Jul 31st 2012, 17:51

WHOEVER HAS NO LEGAL TITLE ON THE LAND HE /SHE HAS NO RIGHT TO STAY.

iLLEGALITY BECOMES LEGAL WITH A STROKE OF THE PEN

e borg

Jul 31st 2012, 16:57

@ stephen bezzina

this is a public outcry to all the politicians and a wake up call to mepa. Time is running out, awaiting for your legal duty for a legal action.

GL Calleja

Jul 31st 2012, 16:43

This is a big waste of time because both leaders of both parties sanctioned these illegal boathouses since the sixties. The government owns all the Utility Companies that supply the Electric, Water and Sewer lines and most of these illegal boathouses legally or not are connected to these utilities. When these illegal boathouses were provided with the utilities, they were deemed legal by the government. Think about that if you will and ask this question. If these boathouses were illegal why did the Government hook up all the Utilities to these illegal boathouses in the first place? After all the owners are paying for these utilities and that makes them legal boathouses. The government cannot have it both ways, but then this is Malta and in Malta " We are Maltese and we do as we please". How about it Dr Gonzi and Dr Muscat?

Henry S Pace

Jul 31st 2012, 15:56

Yes. This is a good appeal to the law abiding citizens.

Nobody has a right to build structures on public land and or private land without tha permit issued by the Civil Authorities.

In maltese language these people are called 'UZURPATURI'

THESE PEOPLE HAVE NO LEGAL TITLE ON PUBLIC LAND.AND NO CONTRACTS WHATSOEVER.

In the 70's the Labour Government led by Dominic Mintoff was politically dishonest to give land title or

whatever to the Ghadira shanty town occupiers.

marco caruana

Jul 31st 2012, 15:49

what if both parties takes no action ?????

Mr Andrew Camilleri

Jul 31st 2012, 15:36

Waste of time! as if this government is going to take any notice of this petition. For GonziPN votes are more important then the environment to the point of allowing land to be retained by those who took it illegally.

John Scerri

Jul 31st 2012, 15:19

Malta nehhew Mandragg wiehed u bnew MIJA.

D Vella

Jul 31st 2012, 15:13

Remove them all!! Including Armier . . . and if anyone protests he can always be asked to pay rent (at today's rates) for all the time that his rabbit-hutch occupied public land illegally!!

I Mercieca

Jul 31st 2012, 15:02

Dak kollu li hu illegali ghandu jitwaqqa. Dik hi l-gustizzja vera. Wara kollox dawk m'humiex boathouses izda kerrejja li jghixu n-nies fijhom b hafna minnhom b'nuqqas serju ta sanita'. La jien u l-anqas hadd mill-famija tieghi ma sraqna art pubblika biex bnejna kamra quddiem il-bahar izda xtrajna l-art skond il-ligi.

martin chetcuti

Jul 31st 2012, 15:02

What I suggest is that some sort of concession must be made by the goverment with the 'owners' provided that they pay a current market price of the occupied land and this ONLY for boathouses that fall under some sort of regulations such as 1. Have some sort of sanitary level 2. Esthetics of a boathouse.
These regulations can be set by appointed architects.
On the other hand Boathouses that are more similar to the shanty towns of the Brasil Favelas should be left to the works of a Caterpillar Bulldozer.....

fred sammut

Jul 31st 2012, 14:34

boat house is for a boat and not for ppl !!


FULL STOP

imma dawn il kmamar mhux xi dura zghira go ghalqa li jmur Jason azzopardi wara xi gaffa daqs dinja.

George Joseph Cauchi

Jul 31st 2012, 14:31

Those who snatched land from the people should return it to the people. IT's illegal and the Government knows this. If these are allowed to remain then there is no law preventing anyone to go do the same. Fairs fair.

S Micallef

Jul 31st 2012, 14:20

i'll vote for any one of the parties who has the guts to promise to have these removed.

enough dirt in this country please!!!!

to all illegal boathouse owners - if you want a summerhouse, cough up some money and buy one!!!

Joseph N. Attard

Jul 31st 2012, 14:01

Further down, a gentleman taunts us all by telling us "sour grapes". And well he might gloat, as long as we have a bunch of politicians who seem to lack a part of their anatomy, as specified by Mr. Mintoff many years ago. We can only reply rather feebly that not everyone is prepared to steal other people's possessions. I realize that the concept might be alien to the gentleman concerned, but the majority of Maltese are law abiding. They will only do lawful things, such as signing the online petition, or going one step further, and vote only for any party which irrevocably promises to bulldoze these illegal enviornmental eyesores.

Joseph Cauchi Senior

Jul 31st 2012, 13:54

So many of us have been complaining about the ILLEGAL boat-houses all over the island, especially in St. Thomas Bay, Gnejna, Armier, Bugibba etc.. which instead of being for their intended purpose are actually used as SUMMER RESIDENCES for the occupants!

It seems that the authorities are afraid to take the bull by its horns, (PN and PL), because they do not have the GUTS to do it and are afraid of losing votes!

So, there is one solution to all this and this will rectify the matter, once and for all!

How?

By doing exactly what these “Squatters” have been doing for ages!

Take the law in our hands and erect a ‘boat-house’ anywhere on the shore-line at our place of fancy (illegally, of course!) and let’s see what the authorities’ reaction would be once thousands of us would follow this step!

They can’t take a decision just for a hundred; just imagine if there are thousands!

JC.

j brincat

Jul 31st 2012, 13:53

@M Busuttil

"Ok let's face it, they are not within law parameters but who are they affecting?"

They are affecting the image of Malta which with these illegal boat houses seem like some shanty third world town!

But then those without any national pride wouldn't be bothered.

Why sanction illegality no matter who is in government?



(jb)

j brincat

Jul 31st 2012, 13:50

@Ian Mamo

"Min ghandu boathouse legali, ma xtrajiex b xejn anqas"

These Maltese Rambos bought it for a for a pittance and now they want it legalised so that it would be worth thousands.

They should have been punished in the first place but then this is Malta for you!


(jb)

K. Vella

Jul 31st 2012, 13:49

That is public land.....WE WANT IT BACK

Victor Rodenas

Jul 31st 2012, 13:48

Nothing will happen.

James Tyrrell

Jul 31st 2012, 13:44

You don't need a petition to sort this out, you need a Government with guts. These things are not boathouses, they are illegally built holiday homes which are a blight on the landscape. The Government through MEPA should pick one area at a time, give them one month to clear their belongings out and then send in the bulldozers to flatten the area. What could be more simple than that?

Stanley Iles

Jul 31st 2012, 13:37

Demolish everything. They are an eyesore. They make us a laughing stock in front of all foriegners visiting us. They are illegal. What else? What is the law waiting for? Do we need to wait for any law to remove any illegality? Why is Mepa not taking action? Who are we protecting by not taking action against crime? Will you or anybody allow illegal development in front of your houses or on your property? This is the real picture!!!!

Ian Mamo

Jul 31st 2012, 12:52

Min ghandu boathouse legali, ma xtrajiex b xejn anqas. NOT FAIR THAT THEY OBTAIN such land FOR FREE!!!!!!!!!! I would put a special price for these so called owners, to allow purchase, and in a year, if not paid, they have to evacuate the place.
FULL STOP!

joe galea

Jul 31st 2012, 12:35

These boat houses should be all removed they look like gypsy villages.Proper summer houses should be build with proper sanatry .People will be able to rent for summer holidays like aboard all nicely built.

M. Busuttil

Jul 31st 2012, 12:24

I don't know why all this hassle and waste of time!

Ok let's face it, they are not within law parameters but who are they affecting? I do not own a boathouse and have never been in one, so I should tend to be against these boathouses but no, they don't make a difference to me. We are so much into each others' lives that we are contanstly finding ways and means to pick on others. Just live and let live.

There are more important issues which we should be tackling time & money on!

ANTHONY PAVIA

Jul 31st 2012, 12:13

Actually, my idea was to offer the squatters to buy them for say € 75,000/€ 100,000 each, according to size, area and location. In addition, to be subject to an annual, unredeemable, ground rent of say € 150/€ 200, this to increase by say 7% every 5 years till maturity in 100 years time. Prior to contract completion, they would have to be charged and settle, without any recourse whatsoever, all road contributions, all Mepa fees, all utilities charges (and legalise all supply) including all backdated bills and any other charge usually associated with the purchase of property.

Finally they would not be allowed to resell or cease possession in any legal way (unless via inheritance, separation or divorce), before the end of fifteen years from date of contract, and this final condition to compensate for their earlier abusive behaviour. Perhaps others can expand on these basic thoughts.

Steven Bezzina

Jul 31st 2012, 11:23

Qares l gheneb qieghad nghid.dawn li qed jiktbu kontra dawn il boathouses ijider li m ghandhomx boathouse ghax kiku mhux qed jiktbu hawn halluna ha nghixu.ahjar taraw jekk intomx thalsu it taxxa u m intomx tiksru il ligi intom

Barney Camilleri

Jul 31st 2012, 11:18

Wish you all the best of luck! It is another worthy causes that seems as one prominent politician put it: he is too busy to look after all local matter.
With a similar petition against excessive disco noise (not disco music but excessive up to 4 a.m.) we got no where.
Best Wishes Barney

Peter Murray

Jul 31st 2012, 10:50

We got 2 and half times this many signatures for Wied Il-Ghasel-fat lot of good it did but I 'll sign anyway

Joseph Grech Attard

Jul 31st 2012, 10:43

What exactly do we mean by 'illegal' boathouses? Does it include those boathouses which were built illegally and then made legal, given electricity, telephone lines, lights in the street, name of streets, etc? If not, this petition does not morally hold. It would be unjust!

Lina Caruana

Jul 31st 2012, 10:37

Joint action is needed in all sectors

Mr Mike Farrugia

Jul 31st 2012, 10:37

While at it, why not add a reform in the health and education sectors which have become unsustainable? Give university students grants not stipends which can be spent on anything. And why don't patients start paying for their food at least?

Anthony A. Mifsud

Jul 31st 2012, 10:32

issa li waslet il general election?
I don't think it's on
Ninu