What do you do when your garden disappears and the door leading to it suddenly becomes the opening to a large hole in the ground? This is not fiction and the answer to that question is as quixotic as the question itself.
When an elderly Sliema resident found out that her garden suddenly made way for a large hole as a result of the construction work being done as part of the Il-Pjazzetta high-rise project, she found herself at a compete loss as who to turn to.
The reality is there is no single authority that can effectively give this elderly woman – and any other citizen in her situation - the protection she deserves from the clutches of a developer, whose only retort in the saga was that “all standard procedures were observed”.
The woman could have taken her case to the law courts but that is cumbersome, long-drawn, expensive and unlikely to ensure her immediate safety.
For all the regulators this country has, it seems not one single watchdog has the power to enforce construction regulations and standards to protect third parties and communities from the side effects of development.
On paper, at planning permitting stage, developers invariably always paint a clean picture of the construction phase of their projects. Sometimes, the Planning Authority imposes certain conditions to minimise inconvenience to neighbours. But this is as far as the planning watchdog’s reach arrives.
It is then left to residents to fight their own battles as construction work gobbles up their quality of life – even if temporarily – and in this Sliema woman’s case literally gobbles up her garden.
However, the Sliema incident highlights a running malaise that afflicts this country: a lack of immediate, effective enforcement.
This can be seen in other spheres of life. Another example highlighted by this newspaper recently is the placement of tuna cages inside St Thomas Bay. For months, these cages were kept there without a planning permit.
The authority did issue an enforcement order and dished out daily fines but, despite this action, the fish farm operator persisted in leaving the cages inside the bay.
For casual observers it would seem like the daily fines were not crippling enough to ensure immediate compliance. The truth is that the tuna ranching industry is a multi-million euro operation that has left negative side effects on the community.
With the authority having little else firepower at its disposal, it would seem like the operator kept doing as he pleased on the premise that the cages could not be towed out to sea because of inclement weather. The result was powerless citizens feeling cheated by the big fish who seem to get away with it.
Although in the fish farming case the Planning Authority did act, its actions were not strong enough and this is what pushed Marsascala residents to vent their frustration with this newspaper.
It is a frustration shared by many other communities and neighbourhoods. To be fair, many Maltese have an inherent Mediterranean trait that looks at enforcement as a nuisance, especially when this is applied against them. Closing an eye is part of this country’s genetic make-up but it should never be an excuse for creating and perpetuating injustices.
Having effective enforcement is essential for a society whose foundations are based on the rule of law.
People have to not only feel protected but have to see that protection come into force whenever their well-being – and their gardens – is being threatened by a stronger force.