The convention Idea Ambjent was a Nationalist Party initiative intended to listen to the public, and various NGOs, on issues having to do with our country’s environment.
The initiative was about what is needed for us to tackle one of our country’sbiggest problems, the environment, a problem that has resulted from limited space, greed and corruption.
The positive thing that came out of the convention is that it showed that the PN is taking the environment very seriously, admits past errors with the intention of not repeating them, and more importantly, is prepared to take feasible action to ensure that future generations enjoy a cleaner and more sustainable kind of environment.
An imperative for this to happen isthat we create a holistic plan for our country, envisaging what we want it to be like in the future.
The Labour government is spellbound by scenes of Dubai: highrise buildings and development everywhere is what they envisage for our country’s future. They are attracted by concrete and money, forgetting people’s needs. Nothing else but money seems to matter for Prime Minister Joseph Muscat and his friends.
The PN’s answer to this is that Malta is not Dubai, our characteristics are there for us to cherish and be proud of, and they go beyond money. Our urban and rural environment is unique, and it is our duty to preserve this for future generations to enjoy.
We cannot afford to continue building on ODZ land. A moratorium is necessary at this point in time
This is not possible if political parties make backroom deals before general elections, as the PL did with some developers prior to 2013, when they callously disregarded our urban and rural environment to the detriment of citizens.
This kind of greed is not only bad for our pockets but also for the environment that we live in. Corruption entails allowing greed to illicitly take over, robbing people of what is theirs by right.
Greed is what will ruin Żonqor Point and might also rob us of the unique beauty in Mġarr ix-Xini in Gozo. It is what has caused the uglification of our urban spaces, because of an architecture that has been stripped of aesthetic pride. It is also the idea that the right thing to do with abandoned development in the countryside is to build villas and more concrete.
For Muscat, agro-tourism means building hotels and spas on virgin land. This is what was allegedly negotiated with some developers on the fourth floor of the PL headquarters before the 2013 election, and this is what former PL deputy leader Anġlu Farrugia meant when he said that the PL was getting too close to the construction industry.
In saying this, I am not suggesting that the PN should become anti-development, but that development should be to the benefit of a common good. As the PN economic document says, the economy should be of service to the people, not the other way round, and the same should apply to development. We cannot afford to continue building on ODZ land.
A moratorium is necessary at this point in time, as land is limited and precious. As far as urban architecture is concerned, we need to find ways of ensuring that new buildings are aesthetically acceptable, and that we preserve older buildings that are of architectural and/or of historical value.
In this manner, we are being innovative to the benefit of development, while preserving our urban and rural spaces for future generations to enjoy. Development could be a good way of making our urban environment and urban space better equipped for the needs of civil society.
Justin Schembri is a Nationalist Party candidate.