Parlament full-time?

Il-bieraħ ħadt sehem f’diskussjoni qasira fuq TVam flimkien mal-Psikjatra Joe Cassar (PN) u l-Avukatessa Deborah Schembri (PL).

Id-diskussjoni kienet dwar il-proposta ta’ Alternattiva Demokratika li l-Parlament għandu jaħdem fuq bażi full-time mhux bħal ma jaħdem il-lum, part-time.

Hemm ħafna xogħol li l-Parlament jeħtieġ li jagħmlu u ma jagħmlux għax ħin m’għandux.

Il-ħidma tal-Gvern ftit li xejn issir sorveljanza tagħha fid-dettall mistħoqq. Dak li għaddej fl-Unjoni Ewropeja ma jiġix mgħarbel kif meħtieġ. Dan minkejja li l-Parlament ta’ stat membru illum il-ġurnata bħala riżultat tat-trattat ta’ Liżbona għandu rwol importanti fil-proċess leġislattiv Ewropew.

Il-Parlament u l-Parlamentari għandhom bżonn lil min jassistihom fir-riċerka. Qasam injorat għal snin twal.

Kont sorpriż iżda bl-argument li dwaru qablu Joe Cassar u Deborah Schembri dwar li jista’ jkollok Parlament full-time imma l-Parlamentari mhux bil-fors ikunu full-timers. Jiġifieri dawn iridu sistema li tippermetti li uħud mill-Membri tal-Parlament jagħżlu li jkunu full-timers u lil oħrajn li jagħżlu li ma jkunux u dan minħabba li l-professjoni jew xogħol ieħor tagħhom jokkupalhom iktar ħin. Din hi l-attitudni li tirreżisti l-ħtieġa li kull Membru Parlamentari jagħti l-ħin kollu għall-Parlament għax sfortunatament għad hawn min irid li jibqa’ jkollu sieq waħda fuq naħa u s-sieq l-oħra fuq in-naħa oħra.

Għad għadna Membri Parlamentari li jippreferu jagħtu l-attenzjoni prinċipali tagħhom lill-professjoni. Jeħtieġ li issir għażla għax il-prattika tal-professjoni u l-ħidma parlamentari huma żewġ responsabbiltajiet li faċilment jikkonfliġġu u jistgħu joħolqu konflitt ta’ interess.

Nifhem l-attitudni, għax din ġejja minn persuni li uħud minnhom għadhom m’humiex konvinti l-anqas dwar il-ħtieġa li l-Ministri u s-Segretarji Parlamentari  għandhom jieqfu mill-prattika tal-professjoni tagħhom.

Ir-rappreżentanti tal-PN u l-PL donnu li jridu jħallu f’idejn il-Membri Parlamentari individwali biex jiddeċiedu huma dwar jekk ikunux membri full-time jew part-time. Iridu li jkollna kemm Membri Parlamentari tal-ewwel diviżjoni (full-time) kif ukoll dawk tat-tieni diviżjoni (part-time). Fi ftit kliem iridu jibqgħu jipprattikaw il-professjoni u fl-istess ħin jippruvaw jaqdu r-responsabbiltajiet Parlamentari.

L-esperjenza sal-lum uriet li Parlament part-time hu Parlament dgħajjef. Parlament part-time hu Parlament li jabdika r-responsabbiltajiet tiegħu f’idejn il-Gvern tal-ġurnata.

Huwa billi jkollna Parlament li jagħmel xogħolu kollu li l-pajjiż jista’ jimxi l-quddiem. L-ogħla istituzzjoni tal-pajjiż ma tistax tibqa’ tiffunzjona fuq bażi part-time.

Dan hu l-pass li jmiss għall-Parlament. Parlament iktar b’saħħtu jfisser demokrazija iktar b’saħħitha.

Biex niġu f’sensina

Il-pjani lokali li jsiru m’humiex hemm għal dejjem. Jeħtieġ li jkunu aġġornati minn żmien għal żmien skond dak li jkun jeħtieġ il-pajjiż.

Mhux kulħadd jagħti prijorita’ lill-istess affarijiet.

Min iħares sal-pont ta’ imnieħru, (short term) bħalma qed jagħmel il-Gvern Laburista li għandna illum kif ukoll kif għamel il-Gvern Nazzjonalista ta’ qablu, jagħti prijorita’ lill-industrija tal-bini għax iqies l-kontribut li  suppost illi din l–industrija qed tagħti lill-ekonomija tal-pajjiż.

Bħalma ġara f’pajjiżi oħra b’konsegwenzi diżastrużi, l-investiment fil-propjeta’ hu bużżieqa li f’pajjiżna ukoll għad trid tinfaqa’ u meta tinfaqa’ ser iweġġgħu ħafna nies. J’alla ddum ma tinfaqa’ u sa dakinnhar nittama li min għandu jiftaħ għajnejħ ikun fetaħom beraħ u  jkun diġa beda jirrimedja.

Hemm bżonn urġenti li nifhmu li l-industrija tal-bini għandha bżonn tkun ristrutturat. Ma tistax tibqa’ tipproduċi iktar propjetajiet reżidenzjali  biex il-parti l-kbira minnhom jibqgħu vojta. Hemm ħtieġa li din l-industrija tkun mgħejjuna tfittex toroq oħra. Hemm ħafna modi kif dan jista’ jsir.

Il-programm elettorali ta’ Alternattiva Demokratika għall-elezzjoni ta’ Marzu 2013 kien ċar fuq din il-materja. Kien l-uniku wieħed li tkellem ċar fuq l-industrija tal-bini u dwar il-ħtieġa li ma jkollnix iktar proġetti massiċċi ta’ kostruzzjoni reżidenzjali.

72,150 post residenzjali vojt ifisser ħela tar-riżorsi tal-pajjiż. Ifisser ħela ta’ art. Ifisser ħela ta’ kapital investit li seta’ faċilment ġie investit f’oqsma oħra iktar produttivi. Ifisser ħela ta’ riżorsi umani li huma dedikati biex jipproduċu bini destinat li jibqa’ vojt. Riżorsi umani li l-pajjiż jeħtieġ f’oqsma iktar produttivi. Għall-ġid tagħhom, għall-ġid ta’ familtom, għall-ġid tal-pajjiż.

L-industrija tal-bini għandha impatti negattivi ekonomiċi, soċjali u ambjentali.

Ir-reviżjoni tal-pjani lokali hi l-opportunita tad-deheb biex nibdew mexjin fi triq li fuq medda ta’ żmien hi inqas problematika. Triq iebsa u diffiċli. Triq ta’ sagrifiċċju.  Triq li tirrikonoxxi li ġaladarba hawn dan il-bini kollu vojt ma nistgħux nibqgħu nibnu bl-istess ritmu. Ifisser ukoll li jeħtieġ li jonqsu l-impieġi fl-industrija tal-bini u jinħolqu f’oqsma oħra.  Mhux faċli. Imma l-problema saret daqshekk kbira għax Gvern wara l-ieħor għaddas rasu fir-ramel, bħan-ngħam.

Hi l-unika triq li tagħmel sens. Għax ikunu ifisser li bħala pajjiż bdejna ġejjin f’sensina.

kif gie ippubblikat fuq iNews nhar l-Erbgha 4 ta’ Settembru 2013

José Herrera jiġbidlu l-ispaga

Naqbel mad-deċiżjoni li ħa s-Segretarju Parlamentari José Herrera meta ordna lid-Direttur tal-Kunsilli Lokali biex dan jagħti struzzjonijiet lill-Kunsill Lokali ta’ San Pawl il-Baħar li hu meħtieġ li dan jirrevoka d-deċiżjoni tiegħu li jaħtar Kunsillier minn fostu bħala Works Manager tal-lokalita’ ta’ San Pawl il-Baħar.

Is-Segretarju Parlamentari aġixxa korrettement biex jassigura tmexxija ghaqlija, trasparenti u kontabbli. Tmexxija li tosserva dak li tistabilixxi l-liġi tal-Kunsilli Lokali.

Is-Segretarju Parlamentari José Herrera kien l-aħħar linja ta’ difiża li kellha il-komunita’ ta’ San Pawl il-Baħar għax is-saffi l-oħra ta’ difiza jirriżultaw li fallew u ma ħadmux.

Fallew milli jaqdu dmirhom il-kunsilliera infushom li issa qed jirriżulta li ħadd minnhom ma kellu konoxxenza tal-obbligi tagħhom. Ħadd minnhom ma oġġezzjona. L-Kunsilliera Laburisti kollha ivvutaw favur. Dawk tal-PN astjenew. Ħadd minnhom ma semma leħnu u ġibed l-attenzjoni  li kienet qed isseħħ irregolaritá bil-ħatra ta’ kunsillier bħala works manager.

L-anqas ma mexa sewwa il-proċess tal-aġġudikazzjoni tal-offerti . F’dan l-istadju l-offerta tal-Kunsillier kellha tkun meqjusa bhala inammissibli. Dan ifisser li min ħa sehem f’dan il-proċess ma jifhimx.

L-anqas ma qeda dmiru s-Segretarju Ezekuttiv tal-Kunsill Lokali li wera b’dan il-każ li ma kellux għarfien adegwat tar-regoli tal-Kunsilli Lokali. Jekk ma jafx dawn l-affarijiet x’qiegħed jagħmel bħala Segretarju Eżekuttiv tal-Kunsill Lokali ta’ San Pawl il-Baħar?

Falla ukoll id-Direttur tal-Kunsilli Lokali li kellu l-obbligu li jintervjeni fil-każ mill-ewwel minghajr ma jkun hemm il-ħtieġa li s-Segretarju Parlamentari  jagħmilha ta’ suġġeritur.

Fortunatament il-Kunsilli  Lokali li jaġixxu b’dan il-mod huma ftit fil-għadd.

Minn dan il-każ ta’ San Pawl il-Baħar nistgħu naslu għal numru ta’ konklużjonijiet.  Hemm bżonn urġenti li kemm il-Kunsilliera kif ukoll is-Segretarji Eżekuttivi jkunu mħarrġa aħjar biex jagħrfu jaqdu sewwa r-responsabbiltajiet tagħhom. Huwa meħtieġ ukoll li  l-proċess tal-aġġudikazzjoni tal-offerti jkun afdat f’idejn persuni kompetenti  kif ukoll li jkun hemm iktar nies imħarrġa fil-lokalitajiet biex jaqdu din il-funzjoni. B’hekk il-Kunsilli Lokali jkunu assigurati li jkollhom pariri mingħand persuni  li jifhmu.

Fl-aħħarnett huwa  meħtieġ  li d-Direttur tal-Kunsilli Lokali jkun iktar proattiv u jkun lest li jiċċaqlaq mingħajr il-ħtieġa li jiġbidlu l-ispaga José Herrera .

Id-dilemma tal-Professur Edward Scicluna

Waqt il-kampanja elettorali l-kelliema tal-Partit Nazzjonalista spiss ftaħru li l-finanzi tal-pajjiż kienu fis-sod. Kellhom ċertifikat, qalulna, mill-Unjoni Ewropeja li l-iżbilanċ finanzjarju kien taħt kontroll skond ir-regoli tal-EU (Il-Patt tat-Tkabbir u Stabilita’). B’ċertifikat li l-żbilanċ finanzjarju kien taħt it-3%, kienu repetutament jgħidulna, l-pajjiż kien finanzjarjament qabad it-triq it-tajba.

It-tweġiba ta’ Alternattiva Demorkatika dejjem kienet li aħna konna nieħdu pjaċir kieku l-finanzi tal-pajjiż kienu amministrati sewwa. Imma kollox kien jindika li l-affarijiet kienu differenti milli kienu qed jgħidu l-kelliema tal-Gvern: iċ-ċifri finanzjarja għal Diċembru 2012 kienu għadhom mhux pubblikati. Kollox kien jindika li meta dawn iċ-ċifri jkunu ippubblikati l-żbilanċ ser jerġa’ jisplodi.

Rapport  dal-għodu fl-Independent on Sunday jagħtina raġuna.

F’artiklu fl-ewwel paġna intitolat : Figures show 2012 public deficit redlining at 5.4% of GDP hu ċar li s-sena 2012 kienet sena oħra disżastruża għall-amministrazzjonji finanzjarja tal-pajjiż.

Waħda mill-kionsegwenzi loġiċi ta’ din l-aħbar hi li kienet irresponsabbilta’ għal Partit Nazzjonalista (li kellu iktar minn ħjiel ta’ din l-aħbar) li jwiegħed tnaqqis fit-taxxa tad-dħul. Alternattiva Demokratika biss qalitu dan waqt il-kampanja elettorali. Għax il-Partit Laburista ukoll ma kellux il-kuraġġ li jiffaċċa ir-realta.

U xi ngħidu għall-ħafna wegħdiet elettorali li jiswew flejjes kbar? Minn fejn ġejjin il-flus? Id-deficit li reġa’ kiber (fil-fatt kważi irdoppja) jfisser li mhux tnaqqis ta’ taxxi ser ikollna! Jew żieda ta’ taxxi inkella tnaqqis fl-infieq!

Issa?

X’ser jagħmel il-Professur Edward Scicluna l-Ministru tal-Finanzi?

Għandu l-kuraġġ jgħid li kemm il-PN kif ukoll il-PL għaddew lill-votanti biż-żmien?

Bla flus …………. la tgħannaq u l-anqas tbus

L-aħbar tat-Times dal-għodu li l-Partit Nazzjonalista m’huwiex f’posizzjoni li jħallas il-pagi tal-impjegati tiegħu m’hiex aħbar tajba.

M’huwiex ċar eżattament x’ġara minħabba li Pawlu Borg Olivier, Segretarju Ġenerali tal-PN, ma weġibx il-mistoqsijiet tal-ġurnalista tat-Times billi dak li ntalab tqies bħala kummerċjalment sensittiv!

Niftakru imma li fi Frar 2013 kien hemm l-aħbar li Żaren Vassallo silef kwart ta’ miljun euro (€250,000) lill-PN. Dakinnhar kienu qalulna li dan kien arranġament kummerċjali proviżorju. Is-self kienu qalulna ser jitħallas!

Dan kollu jerġa’ jiftaħ beraħ id-diskussjoni dwar il-finanzjament tal-partiti politiċi.

Il-Bank of Vassallo ċertament li m’huwiex  is-soluzzjoni. Huwa importanti li s-saħħa tal-flus ma tibqax tkun ċentrali fil-politika. Għax dak li fil-fatt ilu jiġri għal numru kbir ta’ snin (mhux biss f’Malta).  Hemm bżonn li tkun megħluba r-resistenza li l-PN kellu għal trasparenza fil-finanzjament tal-politka. Għal xi żmien anke’ l-Partit Laburista kellu din ir-resistenza, sakemm hu ukoll beda jiffaċċja d-diffikultajiet.

Alternattiva Demokratika fil-programm elettorali tal-aħħar elezzjoni kienet ċara, kif kienet f’kull elezzjoni ġenerali.

Il-posizzjoni illum suppost li hi committment min-naħa tal-Partit Laburista li waħda mill-ewwel liġijiet li ser jitressqu fil-Parlament li ser jiltaqa’ bħal-lum ġimgħa ser tkun dik dwar il-finanzjament tal-partiti politiċi.

Nistennew u naraw.

A loan for the Nationalist Party

It is normal for a commercial company to take up a loan from a commercial bank for the purposes of its  activities.

But is a commercial company owned by a political party “a normal commercial operation”?  In my opinion it is not.

Hence the declaration that business tycoon Nazzareno Vassallo has loaned the sum of €250,000 to a media company belonging to the PN is bad news. It is an additional exercise in the financing of a major political party in Malta by a major player in local business activity.

The terms and conditons of the loan have not been disclosed.

The very existence of this loan proves, if any proof was needed, of how close the Nationalist Party is to the major players in the construction industry.

The Prime Minister and Leader of the Nationalist Party has assured one and all that this did not give rise to any sort of obligation of the Nationalist Party towards Mr Vassallo and his companies. This loan will be paid he said, and very shortly.

I do not know whether and how the loan will be paid. What I know is that public confirmation of this loan has sealed the view of many that business and politics are too close for comfort.

It was known by all that Dr Lawrence Gonzi and his PN have done a great disservice to politics in Malta by promising legislation on regulating the financing of political parties and not keeping to his word. The approval of this loan explains clearly what the Leader of the PN really thinks on the regulation of the financing of political parties.

Alternattiva Demokratika in Parliament after the March 9 elections will be submitting proposals for legislation to ensure that the finances of political parties are transparent and regulated by law.

PN and the PL Members of Parliament, in the outgoing legislature, had for their consideration a Private Member’s Bill on regulating the financing of political parties. They ignored it.

Alternattiva Demokratika will improve that draft and present it for discussion in the new Parliament.

originally published in di-ve.com on Friday March 1, 2013

Environmental Governance

Having over 70,000 vacant residential properties is a very serious matter which both the Nationalist and the Labour parties have ignored in their electoral manifestos. Rather than being ignored this fact ought to serve as the launching pad for a different way of looking at land use planning issues.

The Housing Authority in the past months has opted not to build new social housing units but instead decided to tap the stock of vacant dwellings held by the private sector. It was a very positive decision pushed forward by Minister Chris Said on taking up his Ministerial responsibilities early in 2012.

In its electoral manifesto Alternattiva Demokratika has listed a number of specific proposals which would go a long way to address the land use planning chaos which will be inherited by the government that takes office after the 9 March general elections.

As a first step Malta requires a moratorium on large scale residential development. The building industry cannot keep constructing flats and maisonettes in hundreds, adding to the stock of vacant dwellings. The number of vacant residential properties is equivalent to 9 times the size of the residential parts of B’Kara.

While the Malta Environment and Planning Authority has issued development permits, the State has, through our taxes, been paying up for the development of the infrastructure (roads, public sewer, water and electricity distribution networks………) which is underutilised. These funds could have been put to better use than to service vacant dwellings.

The boundaries of the development zone have to be rolled back. Those lands which, in August 2006, were included as land suitable for development as part of the so-called rationalisation exercise and have not yet been committed to development should return forthwith outside the development zone where they belong.

The construction industry, aided by a myopic MEPA, has made a havoc of our towns and villages through encouraging overdevelopment. In 2006, when the final decisions on most of the Local Plans were being considered,  the Government had access to the 2005 census results which determined the existence of 53,136 vacant dwellings. This was a substantial increase over the 17,413 vacant dwellings identified 10 years earlier as part of the 1995 census.

Publication of the 2011 census results on property is long overdue, but it is expected that the numbers this time will exceed the 70,000 mark substantially.

Faced with these numbers, a responsible government would never have proposed extending the development zones. The 2005 census result provided the evidence for their curtailment not for their extension. In addition to extending the development zones, the PN-led government increased the permissible building heights practically all over Malta, the end result being a further substantial increase in the number of vacant dwellings.

In addition, the height relaxation policy put in place in 2006 had another serious impact. It placed a number of dwellings in the shade of new buildings surrounding them, these being built in line with the new permissible heights. As a result, the residents in these dwellings cannot make use of solar energy. Not only the use of photovoltaic panels is out of the question but also their solar water heaters are in most cases no longer of any use!

Faced with this situation, it is political madness to propose considering the construction industry as an important and fundamental component of the economy, as the PL is proposing. The construction industry must shrink rather than expand. It must be assisted to manage its essential and unavoidable restructuring.

The construction industry can be directed towards three specific areas of activity: rehabilitation of old properties, road construction/maintenance and marine construction works. Each of these three areas of activity requires training in construction skills. Rehabilitation works require old building trades on the verge of disappearance. Roadworks, though improving in quality, still require a more skilled labourforce. We also need to take stock of our marine infrastructure which requires substantial improvement as well as regular maintenance.

The Government can assist the construction industry to change through providing training facilties for its labour force, thereby reducing the social impacts of change. Funds from the European Social Fund are available to assist in this exercise.

Land use planning should be subject to environmental governance rules. It is for this reason that AD considers it essential that rather then splitting up MEPA, the Government should go for a defragmentation, consolidating all environmental functions in one authority through the amalgamation of MEPA with the Resources Authority.

In such a consolidated authority, environmental considerations should be overriding and, in particular, land use planning should be put in its proper place: under the continuous supervision of a properly staffed Environment Directorate.

This is the basic change required in environmental governance. Placing the land use planning and the construction industry in their proper place and ensuring that environmental governance is defragmented.

published in The Times, Saturday 23rd February 2013

Restructuring the building industry

Both Labour and the PN consider the building industry as a very important element of the economy. AD disagrees and considers that it is time for the building industry to be restructured.

In AD’s manifesto it is stated that : The current slow down of the building industry makes it ripe for restructuring. The first step would be acceptance of the fact that too much of the Maltese islands are built up and that the up-take of more land for building should cease forthwith. Nor can we continue demolishing the core of our towns and villages and replacing them with more intensive development. The restoration of old buildings and their adaptation to uses compatible with today’s needs is the necessary way forward.

With over 70,000 vacant properties it is about time that we take stock of the situation and finally decide that it does not make sense to keep adding to the stock of vacant dwellings.

The rationalisation exercise in 2006 extended the development zones when the 2005 Census  was already clearly indicating that the number of vacant dwellings was on the increase. Yet prodded by developers the PN in government (supported on this issue by the PL) not only increased the limits of development but also increased the permissible heights in various localities. Today the situation is even worse.

The need to restructure the building industry is consistent with AD’s electoral proposals for a moratorium on large scale residential development, and the reversal of the extension of the limits to development and the permissible building heights.   Instead of shedding its surplus labour force the building industry should be encouraged to seek alternative avenues. Applying usefully EU funds Government can assist through training programmes in such areas as traditional building skills, road building and marine construction works.

originally published at di-ve.com on Friday 15 February 2013

Fil-but tal-kuntratturi

L-infieq tal-PN u tal-PL f’din il-kampanja elettorali hu sostanzjali. Qed jintefqu l-miljuni. Jew biex inkun iktar preċiż qed jintużaw riżorsi li jiswew il-miljuni.

Jieħdu għalihom meta ngħidulhom li mill-politika tagħhom kif ukoll mill-mod kif jaġixxu huwa ċar li qegħdin fil-but tal-kuntratturi.

Wara li l-bieraħ kkumentajt dwar dan fil-konferenza stampa organizzata minn Alternattiva Demokratika, illum żewg rapporti fil-Malta Today u s-Sunday Times komplew jitfgħu iktar dawl fuq il-materja.

L-intervista ta’ Anġlu Farruga fis-Sunday Times u l-istorja dwar il-karita’ tas-Sammaritan Żaren Vassallo mal-PN fil-Malta Today jisjegaw ħafna affarijiet.

Il-PN qed jiċħad din l-istorja u qed jhedded lill-Malta Today b’azzjoni legali.

Forsi issa huwa iktar faċli li wieħed jifhem għaliex għad m’għandniex liġi li tirregola l-finanzjament tal-partiti politiċi f’Malta.

Armier illegalities and amnesties

In its electoral manifesto, the Nationalist Party is proposing an amnesty relative to land use planning irregularities. It is the second amnesty in six months because, in August 2012, the Government published the rules for another amnesty: relaxed rules in respect of properties that did not follow sanitary regulations.

Existing sanitary regulations already provide the health authorities with discretionary authority when there are minor variations in the sanitary requirements of buildings. The August 2012 amnesty sought to address the gross violations of the law by addressing primarily cases where the dimensions of backyards varied by up to 33 per cent from the permissible dimensions. Now the size of backyards in properties is a requirement based on two considerations: the need for ventilation and access to natural light.

The reasons brought forward to justify this sanitary amnesty were that owners/developers were encountering difficulties to sell properties that do not conform to legal requirements.

The PN in government applied an ‘innovative’ solution: when facing difficulties, lower standards. Rules and standards are considered by the PN to be red tape and unnecessary bureaucracy, which could be dispensed with. Instead of ensuring the rule of law on such basic and elementary matters, the PN in government rewarded those who ignored the basic rules.

The PN proposal for a 2013 amnesty on land use planning irregularities is carefully worded. It says a lot and says nothing at the same time. It speaks of pre-Mepa reform (2010) and states that this amnesty will apply to irregularities in place before that date.

At the time of writing, Labour has announced its proposals on Mepa. Labour too wants an amnesty to consider the sanctioning of building irregularities.

What the PN manifesto does not say is that the Nationalist government is being consistent as it never had the political will to enforce planning regulations. The fact that pending enforcement actions have accumulated to thousands, a number pre-dating 1992, is clear testimony to this. Available data is scarce but in 2009, in reply to parliamentary question 10,537, the Prime Minister had stated that there were 7,373 pending enforcement actions. The number has since increased.

This accumulated backlog of enforcement action is proof of the incompetence of those whom the PN in government entrusted with the implementation of land use planning policy. It also spells out the achievements of a number of ministers responsible for Mepa in the past years, Lawrence Gonzi included.

Mepa needs adequate resources and a clear policy direction, which the PN in government has failed to identify and which the PL, being in cahoots with developers, is incapable of ensuring.

The Greens’ manifesto outlines a number of measures that need to be taken to bring environmental governance back on track.

Not compromising with illegalities and the political will to act heads the list. The clearest example being the commitment to demolish the shanty town at Armier. Both the PN and the PL are committed to assist the squatters at Armier who have taken over public land and illegally built over 900 boathouses on the Mellieħa peninsula.

Way back in 2003, on the eve of another election, the PN-led government had agreed to transfer to Armier Developments Limited, the squatters’ holding company, 26 hectares of public property. The agreement between the Government and the squatters’ holding company indicates a lease for 65 years against payment of €366,000 per annum.

The newsletter Mill-Bajja, published by the squatters, in October 2007 had referred to a meeting with the then Leader of the Opposition, Alfred Sant. It said that he had promised to honour an earlier agreement with the squatters, which was entered into way back in 2002. Labour’s spokesmen have, time and again, emphasised that they are in sympathy with the squatters

It is clear that both the PN and the PL openly and unashamedly support the illegalities at Armier.

The PN in government had the opportunity to tackle the issue during the past 25 years. When faced with a proposal to act, it refused. Former Minister Michael Falzon is on record (MaltaToday, February 15, 2009) as stating that he had submitted a proposal, to pull down the Armier shanty town, for Cabinet’s endorsement in the early 1990s. It was shot down.

The only way that we can get some sense in land use planning in Malta is through the election of Green MPs. The others have repeatedly proven that their quest for votes surpasses their commitments to act in the public interest.

It is indeed no coincidence that AD chairman Michael Briguglio was threatened by means of an anonymous letter received earlier this week. The threats were directly linked to AD’s commitment to act and sweep away the Armier illegalities. The status quo is under threat.

The basic message is getting through: with AD you know where we stand.

published in The Times, February 2, 2013