When the mayor of Gżira Conrad Borg Manché said that donations given by the Malta Developers Association don’t make up for the inconvenience and distress caused by some developers, he was stating something that resonates with residents – that big, highly visible, public relations-puffed donations don’t necessarily make things better for people on the ground.
I’m not dissing these huge cheque hand-overs before the cameras. If they are funnelled towards a genuinely good cause and can prevent even 15 minutes of heartache or pain to any person, I’m not quibbling. And if the donors get their camera kudos, it’s fine too.
What is offensive, though, is the assumption that this charity offsets the daily inconvenience and suffering caused to entire localities while construction projects take place. How exactly is that donation, handed over in front of a cheering audience, going to help young children when the pavement next to their school is blocked because of a construction vehicle, and they have to walk in the car-congested roads, risking life and limb?
There’s no compensation for the thousands of tribulations suffered nationwide because of unregulated construction
What beneficial effect is that cheque going to have on senior citizens who fear to tread outside because of pavements rendered perilous and uneven by the heavy vehicles constantly parked on them?
As the landmarks of their locality are demolished in the name of progress, as much-loved local businesses are substituted by international chains, old people have to contend with cumbersome scaffolding blocking their access and views. They have become prisoners in their own homes. The dust clouds that swamp the air can’t be conducive to their health. Nor is it conducive to the health of their grandchildren – those who wheeze and suffer because of asthma.
There are other inconveniences caused by the increased rate of construction – the din made by constant drilling and work going on at all hours (regulation be damned). The stress and lost working hours caused by roads blocked by cranes – for months and years on end. Who pays for them? There’s no compensation for the thousands of tribulations suffered nationwide because of unregulated construction.
It’s come to a pretty pass when the general response is just to grin and bear it, hoping that at least it will be over in a few months’ time. It is ironic to see that we live in a country where a wide range of measures have been introduced to stamp out discriminatory treatment based on gender, physical characteristics and sexual orientation, but nearly nothing has been done to stop one type of commercial enterprise from inconveniencing the rest of us.
The authorities have declared they will be stepping up enforcement action, with Planning Authority personnel inspecting sites to see if construction laws are being adhered to. Hopefully this is a move for more accountability from the development industry, rather than misplaced national gratitude for charity donations that tick the Corporate Social Responsibility box but do little else.
There may be no stopping progress or pausing the economy, but it’s no reason to delete the ‘decency’ button from the national consciousness.
As trees get chopped down with reckless abandon and many of our townscapes and squares are rendered sterile and barren, there is a flailing around for solutions.
Compensatory tree planting is being mooted as one possible way of making up for the tree cull. The idea behind this is to have more trees planted than have been uprooted, ensuring that there are more trees than have been destroyed.
In theory it sounds fine, and it’s better than not doing anything at all. Unfortunately, replacing a beautiful, mature tree with a stick-like sapling is really not comparable. Moreover, I doubt we have the resources to ensure and monitor that the saplings planted are being cared for. Who is going to police the planting, watering and pruning of the new trees? We barely have enough enforcement oomph to see that obvious illegal structures are not dismantled, how are we going to find enough guardian enforcement angels for these new trees?
There’s another point. If trees are felled in a certain locality, it makes little sense for the community to have the trees planted elsewhere – out of sight and sadly out of mind. Trees should not be restricted to tree ‘zoos’ where we have to travel to gawp at them. Space should be found for trees in our arid urban areas where they will serve as a welcome break from the bleakness of the uniform concrete and chaos.
drcbonello@gmail.com