Some days ago, the Gozo Ministry said that those who want to oppose the relocation of the Gozo courts from the Citadel to Pjazza l-Assedju 1551 in Victoria should discuss this only at the Malta Environment and Planning Authority.

My family and I are among those opposing this proposal by the government since this open space in Victoria was never intended to be built up, and we invested in our property since the land had been passed from the Church to the Joint Office with the aim of keeping it as an open space.

The Church remains silent on this issue.

Why is the Gozo Ministry saying that no one should express a point of view in public about a proposed building once it has been submitted to Mepa?

In this case the ministry is defending this development to destroy Pjazza l-Assedju. In other instances, the ministry remained silent as in the case of the Ramla villas and Ta' Ċenċ. Is this a case of two weights and two measures?

According to the Gozo Ministry the democratic process should be reduced to the largely ineffective exercise of complaining to Mepa. Who trusts Mepa these days?

There are alternative sites where the law courts could be built without destroying more open spaces in Gozo. The best, in my view, is to find an unused building and convert it. One of the proposals of Alternattiva Demokratika is to upgrade the huge, derelict ex-MMU premises just outside Victoria. These premises have been neglected for years.

What is the Gozo Minister's objection to relocating to the premises? Unlike us, it is not limited to voicing its objections only with Mepa.