Last Sunday at 7pm, I broke with tradition and left my house, inspired by the laudable ‘break in’ the previous day by Kamp Emergenza Ambjent and Gżira mayor Conrad Borg Manche. I refer of course to the metal gates and fences constructed by the Manoel Island Development Consortium (MIDI) in 2000.

It transpires that those gates (and the long years of public access they denied) ran counter to the terms of the government’s contract with MIDI. The foreshore was expressly excluded from the emphyteutical concession, and temporary access restrictions applied only to development work. The development never happened, so denying public access was both unreasonable and illegal.

Thanks to the tenacity of the mayor who did his homework, did not take MIDI’s word for it, and was not crippled by fear of upsetting the applecart and challenging the status quo (we need more like him), public access to Manoel Island and its foreshore was temporarily restored.

For the first time in 16 years, I was able to move freely on Manoel Island. I was awed by the experience, as were the others there. There was magic in the air. Perhaps we had stumbled on something we thought we had lost – a past, miraculously, still intact.

Yes, there are positives that come from locking up a place for 16 years. Like Miss Havisham’s house, the clocks stop. Which is why Manoel retains what Tigné lost.

Manoel Island is a small piece of Malta that has remained uncontaminated by the commercial arrogance and soulless embellishment we have come to expect from projects of this sort, principally aimed at high-end foreigners and Maltese bling.  So I’m not actually sorry that MIDI did not stick to an agreement which promised, improbably, to be both futuristic and old-fashioned.

To me, the very idea of a ‘self-contained contemporary village underpinned by state-of-the-art infrastructure, providing a distinct yet holistic mix of homes, businesses, leisure centres which pay homage to the history of the area… inspired by Malta’s nascent regeneration’ sounds as environmentally pretentious as it is linguistically fatuous.

So pretentious, in fact, that it never actually materialised. There is no 55-suite boutique hotel, no 350-berth yacht marina, no waterfront Casino. Sixteen years on, the area is abandoned and fallow. The tokenistic renovation of part of the fort (at an alleged €30 million) is the only new life there. As far as I know, the site is permanently closed and used only for occasional private functions (at considerable cost).

There was magic in the air. Perhaps we had stumbled on something we thought we had lost – a past, miraculously, still intact

It is my belief that MIDI was allowed to develop Tigné Point only on the understanding that Manoel Island would also be developed. The obvious conclusion is that the developers were never really serious and used Manoel Island only as a ‘sweetener’.

Which is fine by me, because I shudder at the thought of another Tigné Point in the middle of Marsamxett. The part I don’t like is that, on top of MIDI virtually taking the shirt off the government’s back, there have been repeated breaches of contract. MIDI owes the government €23 million and is nowhere near starting a project due for completion by 2023.

Yet there’s been radio silence from both the government and the Opposition. Where indeed are all the commentators who routinely protest against the privatisation of government property? Is Manoel Island the other side of the moon? Or is it ‘the other government syndrome’ that explains the silence?

What we saw last week was a powerful turn of events – a tipping point, no less. The Maltese are finally on the march, laying claim to what was always unequivocally theirs. I sincerely hope the dominos keep falling!

What will happen at Manoel Island, coming after Tigné Point, Portomaso and Żonqor, must be the defining lesson for this and all future governments.

Governments should at all times be custodians of people’s rights, and giving away public property for private development is always wrong whether your name is Sadeen, Tumas, Gaffarena or MIDI.

The reclaiming of Manoel Island in the name of the people would be wonderful, if only we could be sure there’d never be a later sell-out. Perhaps only the status of a national park, as sacrosanct as St John’s Cathedral, will ensure that.

What the government needs to understand is that the environment, both natural and man made, is by far the biggest issue confronting Malta today. Pious statements are not enough. There needs to be an understanding, fully supported by deeds, that custodianship of Malta’s virgin land and heritage is a solemn and patriotic duty. The people are clearly passionate about this. They do not want, or need, any more urban jungles – high or low.

MIDI are huffing and puffing, trying to insinuate that Manoel Island has since been vandalised! I find this very hard to swallow – such snide aspersions are wholly repugnant. Equally specious is the argument that there is no right of way to the foreshore through private property. Keeping everyone out on the pretext that vandals and drug addicts will take over the foreshore is just a red-herring. We may as well close off all the beaches.

Meanwhile MIDI has installed newer and stronger gates and seems determined to keep people out. I am almost glad the issue has not been politicised. This is a battle the people need to fight and win without political interference.

This is the sort of corruption that needs to stop if our island is ever going to make it. One can only hope that this will usher in a new dawn for ‘People Power’ on Malta and bring an end to the ‘MIDI touch’.

michelaspiteri@gmail.com

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