Id-dellijiet ta’ Adrian Delia

Mid-dehra, Adrian Delia ma jkunx inkwetat jekk flok id-dellijiet tas-siġar nispiċċaw bid-dellijiet tat-torrijiet li qed jinbnew. Dan joħroġ minn kummenti li l-media xandret wara li segwiet laqgħa bejn Adrian Delia u l-Assoċjazzjoni tal-Iżviluppaturi ta’ Malta li fiha Sandro Chetcuti għamel ħiltu biex iħeġġeg lill-partit ta’ Delia li kien għaqli li jimxi fuq il-passi tal-Partit Laburista ta’ Joseph Muscat u jindiehes iktar man-nies tan-negozju. Fi ftit kliem li jkun business-friendly.

Din mhux l-ewwel darba li Sandro Chetcuti pprova jħeġġeg lill-partiti politiċi ewlenin li jaqblihom jekk jisimgħu minnu. Drabi oħra qabbel lil Partit Laburista u lil Partit Nazzjonalista ma żewġt iħwienet kbar li perjodikament ikollhom offerti speċjali tal-blieh. Il-membri tal-Assoċjazzjoni tal-Iżviluppaturi Maltin, kien jiftaħar Sandro Chetcuti, huma dejjem b’għajnejhom miftuħa għall-offerti speċjali, għax dak ikun il-mument li jaqilbu min-naħa għall-oħra.

Li jkollok Gvern li jdub quddiem in-nies tal-flus hi opportunitá tad-deheb għal dawk li jridu jdawru lira. Għax, mhux hekk, wara kollox ma hemm l-ebda differenza bejn id-dell tas-siġar u dak tat-torrijiet: it-tnejn jipproteġu mill-qilla tax-xemx!

Jidher li Delia l-iżviluppatur ittrasforma ruħu f’Delia l-Kap ta’ Partit biex ipproduċa l-izviluppatur-politiku tas-seklu 21. Tidher stramba l-biċċa, imma dejjem kienet hemm, kemm kemm ma tidhirx: bl-iżviluppatur jissielet bejn djun mal-banek u argumenti mal-awtoritajiet tat-taxxa. Fil-passat kellna politiċi li deffsu imnieħirhom fl-iżvilupp tal-art. Illum għandna sitwazzjoni bil-maqlub: għandna żviluppatur li qed ideffes imnieħru fil-politika!

Il-kunflitt bejn dak li jsejħulu żvilupp u l-ambjent ma jispiċċa qatt. Il-problemi li jinħolqu mhux ser ikunu iktar faċli biex jissolvew jekk flok politiċi-żviluppaturi jkollna l-iżviluppatur-politiku. Adrian Delia ġie rappurtat jgħid li ried jiffoka fuq “ippjanar għal viżjoni fit-tul għall-industrija”, ċjoe għall-industrija tak-kostruzzjoni. Probabbilment li dak kien Delia l-iżviluppatur li kien qiegħed jitkellem. Jekk il-ħsibijiet ta’ Delia l-politiku jikkuntrastawx ma dan għadu ftit kmieni biex nintebħu.

L-istampa kienet okkupata tirrapporta li Delia l-politiku kien medhi jitħakkek mal-iżviluppaturi tat-torrijiet. Kien hemm diversi laqgħat ta’ Adrian Delia ma żviluppaturi stabiliti, b’mod partikolari ma dawk involuti fl-iktar proġetti kontroversjali li issemmew dan l-aħħar. Ovvjament li l-iżviluppaturi, b’mod organizzat, qed jaħdmu fuq l-Opposizzjoni, jitolbu l-appoġġ tagħha huma u jgħumu fil-kontroversji kurrenti. Diffiċli tgħid jekk f’din l-okkazjoni sarux jew ġewx imwegħda xi donazzjonijiet (finanzjarji) li ċertament huma meħtieġa biex jittaffew id-djun kbar li l-PN hu mifni bihom.

Dawn il-laqgħat ġew f’mument interessanti ħafna, meta l-President tal-Assoċjazzjoni tal-Iżviluppaturi Maltin ġie appuntat konsulent tas-Segretarju Parlamentari għall-Ippjanar u s-Suq tal-Propjetá. Billi qed jintqal li din il-ħatra mhux ser tkun il-kawża ta’ kunflitt ta’ interess hu probabbli li din is-sitwazzjoni ser tkun rimedjata billi fl-istess ħin jingħata parir liż-żewġ naħat tal-Parlament. Hu ċar li l-Assoċjazzjoni tal-Iżviluppaturi Maltin qed tinkoraġixxi lil Adrian Delia biex huwa jimxi fuq il-passi ta’ Joseph Muscat billi anke hu jkun ħabib sew man-nies tan-negozju (business friendly). Delia mid-dehra dieħel bir-ras mingħajr m’hu jirrealizza li bħala riżultat ta’ dan, il-PN dieħel iktar ‘il-ġewwa fil-but tal-iżviluppaturi.

Sadanittant l-istupru ta’ pajjiżna jibqa’ għaddej. Kif ilu għaddej għal iktar minn 40 sena. Jonqsu d-dellijiet ta’ siġar u fl-istess waqt jiżdiedu id-dellijiet tat-torrijiet.

Dan isejħulu progress!

 

Ippubblikat fuq Illum : Il-Ħadd 18 ta’ Marzu 2018

Adrian Delia’s choice of shadows

Apparently Adrian Delia is not preoccupied if, instead of shadows cast by trees, we are restricted to shadows cast by high buildings. This conclusion results from a comment picked up by the media when he had the opportunity to listen to a Sandro Chetcuti lecture urging the PN to be business-friendly, just like Joseph Muscat’s Labour Party.

This is not the first instance of Sandro Chetcuti lecturing the major political parties. On other occasions he has compared the Nationalist Party and the Labour Party to two supermarkets which periodically make fantastic special offers available. Members of the Malta Developers’ Association, he claimed, are on the look-out for the discount season as this is when they switch their custom from one supermarket to the other.

Dealing with a business-friendly government has been a field day for those intent on making hay while the sun shines, and casts its shadows – both the relatively short ones cast by trees and the much longer ones cast by high rises. It seems that Delia the developer has now morphed completely into Delia the Party leader, producing a 21st century developer-politician: a strange combination, but somehow it was always there beneath the surface – the developer wading his way through overdrafts and tax disputes.

Various other politicians have, in the past, put their finger in the development pie. Now we have the opposite experience: a developer putting his finger in the political pie!

The conflict between the so-called development and the environment is never-ending and the problems created will not be easier to tackle with developer-politicians being substituted by a politician developer.

Adrian Delia was reported as stating that he wanted to focus on “long-term planning for the industry”, that is the building construction industry. Most probably that was Delia the developer speaking. Whether Delia the politician has contrasting views is too early to state.

The press has been busy reporting that Delia the politician has been courting high-rise developers. Various meetings have been held with established developers, in particular  those involved in the most controversial projects currently in the pipeline.

Obviously, the development lobby is working the Opposition, seeking its support in the minefield they are currently navigating. Whether any (financial) donations were made to help alleviate the debt-trodden PN cash-box is anybody’s guess at this point in time.

These meetings come at an interesting point in time, when the Malta Developers’ Association President has been appointed as an advisor to the Parliamentary Secretary for Planning and the Property Market. Given that it was considered that this appointment did not give rise to “any conflict of interest”, most probably this situation will now be remedied by simultaneously seeking to advise the opposing sides of Parliament.

The Malta Developers’ Association is clearly encouraging Delia to follow in Joseph Muscat’s footsteps of business friendliness and Delia seems determined to barge-in, oblivious to inevitable consequence that, as a result, he will further embed the PN in the developers’ pockets.

The rape of our land is work in progress. It has been going on for over 40 years and, unfortunately, the end is not yet in sight. The substitution of shadows cast by trees by those cast by high-rises goes on.

They call this progress.

published in The Malta Independent on Sunday: 18 March 2018