In an article published some time ago in The Times residents in Sliema complained about the continuous development that is taking place there. In the process formerly quaint urban areas have been turned into veritable construction sites and the old buildings replaced by featureless structures lacking in both taste and grace. A far cry from the elegance and charm that characterised these same areas some years back.

Old buildings have been replaced by featureless structures- Louis Cilia

The long waterfront stretch from St Julians to Gżira has been in the front line of much of this irrational development, but now the construction industry having almost exploited the area to its full extent has turned its greedy eyes to other previously untouched patches in the very core of the town. Nothing is being spared.

The complaints are various. There are health hazards, dust generation, blocking of whole streets for long period of time, lack of organisation of traffic, parking inconveniences, ir-responsible behaviour by contractors, presence of heavy machinery in densely built-up areas, lack of appreciation of neighbours’ problems by construction workers, no concern for the environment, desecration of our heritage, destruction of buildings of unique architectural and, or historical value, and so on. The list is unending.

One asks: How long can this go on? Any observer can note various buildings going up which remain empty for years. It is said that in Sliema alone there are over 35 per cent of its residences unoccupied. Is there no saturation point given the country’s size limitations and its scarcity of natural resources? Surely this continuous development has a harsh tag price attached to it.

The problem is being exacerbated because unbridled dev-elopment is now spreading to almost everywhere in Malta, including Gozo. Old vill-ages have not been spared, nor the countryside.

Spain is a prime example of a country that had in the recent past relied heavily on its construction industry to boost its economy, and for a long time the strategy worked fabulously as the country’s banking sector went into top gear to finance the various projects and the nation attained heights of prosperity as never before.

It was, however, an illusion. A sudden slump in Europe and other western countries follow-ing the banking and financial crisis of 2007/2008 brought about a consequent sharp decrease in demand for new homes and the construction industry in Spain collapsed in a short period of time. It was like a pack of cards falling on each other. Quickly other areas of Spain’s economy were affected and the country went into serious recession with unemployment reaching unprecedented heights.

It is an unpleasant picture, much more so to the people who have been affected by the country’s economic woes. Quickly the national tragedy turned into individual tragedies with whole families destroyed or on the verge of destruction.

Policy makers should therefore be very wary of embarking on such short term strategies that give the false impression of a thriving country but in reality already have the seeds of self-destruction embedded in them. In the end these seeds will grow into monsters that will devour their own. To be more specific, one sows the wind and reaps the whirlwind. Future generations would look askance at our folly and insensitivity to all that really matters.

Malta used to be known as “Il Fior del Mondo”. We have always been proud of this and rightly so. It is incredible how much is packed into this small country. Sir Walter Scott referred to Malta “as an island like no other in the world.”

Malta is a natural museum of antiquities, including remains from Megalithic times, reminders of Greek, Phoenician, Roman and Arab occupations, as well as reminiscences of the Middle Ages and Renaissance periods. Much has been sacrificed on the altar of development, but much is still saved or salvable.

Here one can still see and admire fortifications and palaces of the Knights of Malta, churches containing great treasures and beauties – all this in a blaze of colour and light that only the Mediterranean and its vibrant peoples can give. Here is a countryside (or what remains of it) that after the rainy season turns its bareness into abundant fertility producing a variety of rich colours as plants and flowers rush into bloom before the dryness of summer again sets in.

Malta, of course, has its drawbacks. What place has not? But it is difficult to imagine a country of its size with such variation and richness. Each generation is the inheritor from previous ones of the national treasures, but it should also be their guarantor.

Shall this uninspiring generation of ours therefore be the one to be accused in future of having dissipated in so short a time much of what it inherited over periods of hundreds and even thousand years? Unless we are very careful (which I suspect we are not), that historical judgement will be one of deep condemnation. Those who are in power and who seek a permanent place in the history books should be especially alert lest their names are ignominiously so remembered for sacrificing what is really precious to the country for short-term gains.