A resident of St George’s Bay has risen above the hubbub and is attempting to see, through court action, whether the government’s land deal with the Corinthia Group is in breach of the public domain law.
As the outrage over plans to allow land originally granted for tourism purposes to be developed for speculative deals continues to build up, the resident filed a judicial protest against the Prime Minister and the Tourism Minister to ensure that laws are not broken and that the people’s interests are safeguarded.
He deserves credit for his move but why is he doing it on his own when there is so much national anger and disbelief at the way the government is proposing to change the original contract with the hotel chain? A collective effort would have reflected the people’s indignation in a stronger manner. There is still time to do this.
However, the issue needs to be put in its right perspective. Malta is proud of Corinthia. For years considered as the island’s flagship in tourism, it has successfully spread its wings abroad, earning a name for excellence and entrepreneurship in a way no other hotel company on the island had done before. It, no doubt, means well when it proposes to build a luxury hotel in St George’s Bay to break new upmarket grounds.
Contrary to the impression the Prime Minister gave last Sunday, when he spoke of the need for Malta to make a giant leap forward in tourism, most would surely not be against attracting big spenders rather than what he called price-sensitive tourists. Yes, there is a limit to the number of holidaymakers the island can take but it would be insulting the people’s intelligence justifying the disposal of land at below market prices for speculative commercial purposes by saying it is meant to boost upmarket tourism. Even developers, usually quite sympathetic to the government, are against the deal as they feel it distorts the property market.
Besides the arguments against the sale of public land cheaply, the concern expressed by the St George’s Bay resident who filed the judicial protest ought to get the attention it deserves also because these must be a limit to foreshore development.
In his protest, the resident, Ivan Mifsud, points out that, although the law does allow for the possibility for permits to be issued for building on land considered to be public domain, this should only be allowed if such building is consistent with the nature of the land in question. The law on public domain, he pointed out, does not permit the government to give parts of the seashore or the seabed to private commercial entities so that it buries, destroys and builds with the intention to advance its commercial interests.
The government has apparently reopened talks with Corinthia after it received legal advice that the proposed deal could be in breach of EU state aid rules. It will, therefore, be well for the hotel chain and the government to listen to the people’s concerns and see how the project could be re-dimensioned and the taxpayers’ interests safeguarded without losing the objective for which the project has been planned in the first place. In this way, Corinthia will not lose any of the standing it enjoys today.
This is a Times of Malta print editorial