There were cheers in the Ħamrun School Hall when the db City Centre project was approved by the Planning Authority Board. They came from the db crowd as they witnessed the final touch on the deal which had been done and dusted beyond closed doors a long time ago.

There were a few anguished cries from Pembroke residents but most were speechless – not at the outcome of the decision  that was a foregone conclusion – but at the sheer brazenness and extent of the betrayal. Because, however you look at it, this was the betrayal of citizens by every single institution and entity involved in pushing through this approval. 

This was not the processing of a development application – this was the railroading of a monstrous project by means of a sham assessment and consultation process. Those who should have been monitoring ensured that the project was greased through, hurtling to its inevitable approval.

The surefire approval was clearly signposted during every single stage of the project assessment. The authorities did go through an environmental assessment process but it was merely a box-ticking exercise – completing the required studies but totally ignoring their conclusions that the project would have a horrifically deleterious major effect on traffic and emissions in Pembroke.

Such major negative repercussions should have been enough to have the project shelved. But the ERA – the authority whose mission statement is, “To safeguard the environment for a sustainable quality of life” – twisted itself into a pretzel trying to explain how these factors could be mitigated by a phantom tunnel.

 By means of some perverse form of twisted logic, the ERA concluded that the tunnel would mitigate these effects. However, the tunnel was not the subject of this or any other application. There is no guarantee of when and how it will be built, no assessment of its safety or health implications, no public consultation about it.

So how can the ERA possibly give its approval for such a massive project based on an unknown factor? How dare ERA chairperson Victor Axiak insult the intelligence and well-being of a whole community with praise for the project, when the effects are major and there is no guarantee or time frame as to the effectiveness of mitigation measures? What fig leaf will he clutch to hide his inconsistency? Will he refer to the letter of commitment issued by the government – that vaguely worded, unenforceable commitment which speaks only of “necessary infrastructure” and not a tunnel?

Horrific perversion of democracy

And why did he vote against the extension of the 14 East Tower in Gżira to a (relatively) low 21 storeys and then vote wholeheartedly in favour of a 38-storey colossus and a massive 17-storey block longer than a football pitch? In the Gżira case, he is cited as having voted against because of “his long-standing view that high-rise projects were being approved without considering the overall picture”.

So whatever happened to that “long-standing view”? Obscured by that monument to hideousness – or something else? Didn’t he find it within himself to urge for a precautionary approach – if not for anything as a token or symbolic vote against the building juggernaut that will impact people so terribly?

Even the little scrap of rocky beach is being taken over and privatised in breach of the public domain law and the local plan. When asked about it, Axiak said that the decking (which ERA usually agonises over) is demountable. That is neither here nor there. In an article about the “unparalleled lavish playground for the super rich” published after the hearing, a db spokesperson raved about “the private beach club”. Presumably mere commoners won’t be able to mingle with the super rich on the very same land which was taken from the public.

Everybody can reach his own conclusions about the ferrying of PA board member Jacqueline Gili to and from Sicily. Not  only because it is an unprecedented waste of money – voluntary organisations and charitable causes have to jump through hoops to drum up the same amount of money which was lavished simply so that Gili could vote as agreed and go back to crunching her cannoli.

But there is also the fact that this treatment is positive discrimination in favour of the applicant in this group. There were scores of cases where not all the Planning Board members were present. No jet plane, taxi or tricycle was commissioned to deliver the missing PA Board member in those cases, resulting in discriminatory treatment.  

Let’s not beat about the bush. Everybody knows what went on here. It is not a partisan matter. The whole country is repulsed by the horrific perversion of democracy – dismissing more than 4,000 citizens like a speck of dandruff.

The message from the authorities is clear: “We don’t care about your pain. We don’t care about a sustainable future. We don’t care about a semi-transparent planning system. We don’t care about your children (except for photo opportunities or as potential consumers).”

This is the message of contemptuous dismissal coming over loud and clear from the authorities and highest institutions. This decision was not a stab in the back. It was a stab in the front – betrayal of the basest sort. In that school hall in Ħamrun festooned with inspirational posters for children, decency came to die.

drcbonello@gmail.com

This is a Times of Malta print opinion piece

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