A survey has shown that 80 per cent of the population think the government should stop more building in the countryside. But press reports suggest that ODZ permits are still being given out like cheesecakes.
In this tiny country, the government persists in treating construction as the motor of the economy. The favourable conditions granted to a private company in the transfer of the ITS site in St George’s Bay, which is public land, are under fire. The Tourism Institute must now move out to make way for this private project, at significant cost to the taxpayer.
We have heard a lot about the hotel and apartments planned for the ITS site. The government has already signed contracts with the developer and held a public launch. But ITS lecturers and students said last week that they were left “in complete darkness” about plans for their immediate future.
The government’s primary interest here was evidently to enable private development, giving away public land at questionable rates in the process. Providing for students’ training to work in tourism was secondary. Using public land for property speculation is not supported by sound economic arguments. In ODZ areas, developers’ speculative, financial gain also ignores the value of open spaces to society. The benefits of the countryside for the nation are undervalued, whether for personal wellbeing, to preserve nature, or for sectors like tourism and agriculture. Visitors note how built up and congested Malta has become, and this is only getting worse.
The plan to construct the so-called American university, in a rural area at Żonqor, is a glaring example. The entire project could be sited in an urban area. After huge public pressure, including Malta’s largest environmental protest, the government only shifted part of it to Cospicua, leaving the bulk at Żonqor.
The recently PN environment proposals promise to give publicly owned ODZ land an economic value at least equal to the economic value of the same kind of land in prime development areas. This should discourage government from viewing our countryside as ‘cheap’ and readily available for large construction projects, as happened at Żonqor.
The planning permits for the Żonqor project have not yet been issued. If elected, the Opposition pledged to try to persuade the Jordanian developers to shift it to an urban area.
The PN’s commitment to safeguard ODZ areas makes the recent application by MP Toni Bezzina for an ODZ residence all the more unacceptable
The PN’s commitment to safeguard ODZ areas makes MP Toni Bezzina’s application for an ODZ residence all the more unacceptable. It goes down very badly for an MP to appear to be flouting his own party’s direction, especially on such a sensitive subject.
The application may conform to planning policy, but that is no consolation as the policy itself is objectionable. The 2014 Rural Policy, which regulates ODZ development, has been heavily criticised by e-NGOs as being lax and encouraging abuse. The policy enables construction in the countryside through the redevelopment and enlargement of existing ODZ buildings, including inappropriate or derelict structures which should instead be removed.
In its rightly critical stance on Bezzina’s application, the government indirectly appears to admit that the Rural Policy enables unacceptable development in the countryside. It should therefore ensure that this misguided policy is revised without delay.
The PL has stressed that Bezzina disregarded e-NGO opinions on his plans. On that basis, let’s hope Joseph Muscat, Deborah Schembri and José Herrera, jointly responsible for planning and the environment, will now follow their party’s own advice and make it a point to listen to e-NGOs. This will make a welcome change. When the Rural Policy was drafted, e-NGO opinions fell on deaf ears. We are now reaping its dismal results, and Bezzina’s application is just one example.
Another MP is also charging off in the opposite direction to his party’s policies. To make matters worse, he is not just an MP but a Cabinet minister and PL deputy leader. Economy Minister Chris Cardona requested a precautionary garnishee order in a libel case, and the government has reacted with a media Bill proposing to abolish such heavy-handed attacks on freedom of speech. The government pointed out that Cardona’s action is legal and within his rights. But this action cannot be dismissed as an entirely personal matter. Cardona has even published statements on this case through his government ministry.
The new media Bill abolishes precautionary garnishee orders in libel cases so they can never happen again. The government is basically conceding, whether they admit it or not, that Cardona’s garnishee is unacceptable. But while Bezzina immediately withdrew his application once condemned, Cardona persisted with his garnishee.
Muscat weakly argued that the garnishee action is superseded anyway, since the public has raised the funds. That misses the wood for the trees. The Prime Minister should not depend on public fund-raising to counteract his Cabinet minister, whose actions contradict a new government Bill. And beyond the euros, there are principles involved.
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