Two growing concerns are, the rising foreign population in Malta and the rapid deterioration of our environment, particularly the disastrous traffic, frenzied construction and lack of greenery. It is tempting to link the two, but I have not seen any convincing facts to prove it. Listening to the messages of our political leaders only adds to the confusion.
Opposition leader Adrian Delia has been stressing the importance of Maltese identity. He has warned that we should guard against attracting foreign workers while losing our children, who will leave when they no longer recognize the Malta they knew.
To be honest, we all no longer recognize Malta, but it seems more likely to be due to the all-powerful construction lobby (whom Delia is reportedly keen to cosy up to). Foreign workers are not going around smashing fine old buildings, uprooting trees and pouring concrete over every bit of soil they can grab. It is the Maltese themselves who are doing that.
Prime Minister Joseph Muscat has dismissed Delia’s concerns about foreign workers, insisting they are necessary to sustain economic growth. He said the country needs 70,000 more foreign workers, which is a substantial amount. He brashly added an extra perk, in that they pay national insurance without receiving a pension and other benefits. Quick-fix cash generating objectives are in the driving seat, but little long-term vision for the country.
Rising property prices have been blamed on foreign workers, though many of them are not here on high earnings. In most jobs and industries, salaries have not changed much over the last few years, while prices are rising steeply upwards. Renting or buying a home, shopping for groceries or eating out, is expensive.
Malta is besieged by building projects, enduring the assault of an over-heated construction industry with all the concerns and pressures that this entails – traffic deadlock, demolition, loss of open spaces, dust, cranes and inconvenience. Each week roads are jammed and dirty. But what are the real drivers of this so-called boom? Surely not foreign workers?
Where is the discussion or strategy on how to integrate a substantial foreign population into Maltese society in the long term?
A related problem recently flagged by this newspaper is the lack of landfill or disused quarry space able to accept the alarming quantities of demolition waste being generated. Dumping sites are reaching their full capacity and irate skip operators have reportedly signed a petition to the government. Environment Minister Jose Herrera has flagged the “unprecedented construction waste crisis”. This is a real and massive problem, but solutions seem nowhere in sight.
But is this a headache for Planning Authority? No signs of worry there. The executive chairman, Johann Buttigieg, has reportedly suggested that if the population goes up to close to a million, this would make a mass transport system viable. In other words, following a total traffic gridlock crisis with a spike in the population, there may be a solution.
He also stated that the current rate of construction is sustainable, as long as foreign investment keeps coming into the country, clearly linking the large influx of foreigners to the current push for development. But this generates environmental and infrastructural problems and pressures, which we live with on a daily basis.
If foreign investment slows down, he said, then the Planning Authority would need to stop issuing the current number of permits. But so long as foreign investment is sustained, then the Planning Authority has to sustain permits, as otherwise, rental rates and prices would rise “due to foreigners competing with locals”.
Hang on. Is the planning board really relating such figures (foreign investment and foreigners residing in Malta) to decisions on permits? I thought that their decisions rested fairly on the existing policies and the local plans of 2006.
In any case, if foreign investment decreases due to changes in the economic cycle and foreigners leave, this surplus of buildings and the irreversible destruction of the traditional landscape will still be with us. Does the Planning Authority have an answer to that? It is not a permit factory, servicing short-term profits. Planners are expected to be planning.
A high turnover of foreign workers suggests that they are only required for a short period and not in the longer term. But what will happen if they stop coming? Or if many begin to settle down here, even if the economic cycle takes a dip? It is fine to actively encourage a vibrant, cosmopolitan workforce, but where is the discussion or the strategy on how to integrate a substantial foreign population into Maltese society in the long term?
The issue needs to be dealt with a lot more foresight than what is currently on display. Unfortunately, there is a growing resentment on this issue, which I hope will not create an opportunity for extremist far-right politicians and groups to strengthen their positions. I am all in favour of a cosmopolitan society, but shooting from the hip won’t take us far. A lack of proper debate will open avenues for populism, spin and misinformation to fill the gap.
petracdingli@gmail.com