I have lived in the ‘south’ of Malta since I was a young child. I find the whole area pretty much fascinating, if not sometimes frustrating. This portside of the island is nothing short of spectacular surprises on the environmental, social and cultural fronts.

I have always found this divide between north and south in such a small island distasteful. But, then again, the divide is very firmly rooted in political history, much of it thanks to the Malta Labour Party.

The roots of the alliance between the ‘south’ of Malta and the Labour Party date to a few decades back when former prime minister Dom Mintoff lorded the nation from a principal seat of this humble part of the island.

As a child I remember a very distressed ‘south’ with Nationalist-leaning people constantly living in fear of violence and retribution.

This at a time when the proverbial manna was supposedly being distributed to the honest workers living around Malta’s southern ports.

Promises made in stupendous orations were the order of the day.

The cold, hard facts remained that Labour, in the 1970s and 1980s, completely abandoned the ‘south’.

Despite the unswerving loyalty of the southern electorate, Labour left southern localities in neglect, in economic turmoil with no signs of investment and with plentiful social problems.

The recent analysis of the results of the local council elections served as a timely reminder of the Labour Party’s performance in the past. As proved by an undeniable swing towards the Nationalist Party in a large number of Labour localities, the truth is that people are fed up of Labour’s hollow promises.

It seems that the ‘south’ of Malta is all fine and dandy as long as Labour need people to vote for them but, as soon as in power, they immediately jettison the needs of the ‘south’.

Who are they trying to fool? Do they honestly think they can ride roughshod over these thousands of people who have loyally voted them in hoping for a better quality of life for their families?

It was indeed a shame when Joseph Muscat, now Prime Minister, chose to criticise the previous PN administration by unashamedly exploiting residents of the ‘south’ in his political spin and insinuated that the Marsaxlokk power station was a ‘cancer factory’.

Such irresponsible statements by the then leader of the Opposition are now a classic case of an emperor with new clothes! Not only do we not have a ‘new’ power station but, to boot, Muscat’s cancer factory persists!

Labour, in the 1970s and 1980s, completely abandoned the ‘south’

It is only thanks to the far-sightedness of the Nationalists when in power that today’s government is able to boast of a BWSC power station and the installation of an interconnector to mainland Europe.

However, this is typical of Labour’s tactics in the south: use and then reject.

For all its implied allegiance to the southern localities, Labour has repeatedly failed to deliver to these communities that have consistently offered unwavering loyal support over the years.

In stark contrast, consecutive Nationalist administrations have quietly invested in the south.

The improvements are all around us to see: new roads, embellishment of promenades, parks and public spaces, the regeneration of the Cottonera waterfront, the rebuilding of Mcast, a national sports complex, to mention but a few.

Did the Nationalists in government manage to address the greater part of the southern challenges? In my opinion, more needs to be done but the political will to regenerate this part of the island after so many years of neglect was certainly tangible and gratefully acknowledged.

Labour’s bequest to the southern population was the promise of a tanker anchored in the bay of Marsaxlokk and the setting up of a so-called Consultative Committee for the South.

It seems this committee was over-enthusiastic in its ambitions to attract investment to the south and drew harsh criticism from all quarters when it proposed the development of land between Xgħajra and Marsascala. Curiously enough, no more of this was heard during the local elections campaign and, yet, now we hear that this has raised its ugly head once again with the government unilaterally deciding to allocate agricultural land in Marsascala for the development of an American university.

Sadly, it’s the 1980s all over again with Labour: showing a distinct lack of innovation when trying to attract business to the south; resorting to construction in outside development zones and assuming that public land is there for the government to negotiate and sell and barter at whatever cost!

What the residents of the south truly expect to see is for governments to pledge to preserve the waning natural, cultural and historical splendid beauty around the Maltese coast.

We definitely do not need a government that likes to play at being a second division property negotiator with our virgin land. It is also for this reason that the electorate in the southern localities have chosen the PN in the latest local elections.

Unlike Labour, the PN has a visible proven track record in the south and will keep on working for the south even from the Opposition benches.

Will the government be voting in favour of the PN Bill to protect public land and to safeguard our heritage or will it continue with the rape of the south?

Info@carolinegalea.com

Caroline Galea is a PN local councillor in Santa Luċija.