ADPD calls on government to reverse course on transfer of Mellieħa land
Green Party calls for halt on proposed development at Taż-Żnuber
The Green Party have called on the government to reverse course on plans to transfer a plot of land in Mellieħa to a private developer.
In a statement, ADPD candidate Luke Caruana, who is campaigning on districts 12 and 13, said his party was “calling on the government to immediately cease the process of transfer of Taż-Żnuber to a private developer”.
The statement follows activists and residents urging the government to take a clear stance on the transfer of land at Taż-Żnuber for the development of a private guesthouse, after the Prime Minister said last week that such transfers went against his political principles.
The land was government-owned until August 2022, when it was handed to a developer on a perpetual emphyteusis for €151,212 a year.
The government has remained tight-lipped on the issue despite numerous objections and a petition launched by the locality’s mayor, Gabriel Micallef.
Caruana said the government’s actions “demonstrate a clear disconnect between public rhetoric and policy decisions. It has become obvious that Prime Minister Robert Abela and his government do not genuinely have the residents’ interests at heart”.
He said the transfer of public land was “nothing new” and should be stopped immediately.
ADPD chairperson Sandra Gauci, who is campaigning on districts 6 and 12, said Abela’s public statements on the transfer of land “sound hollow when compared to the actual reality of his administration’s behaviour”.
“Time and again, when faced with decisions regarding planning and land use, the government consistently fails to back up its stated principles with concrete action, appearing instead to capitulate to the powerful interests of the construction lobby.”
The party described the pattern of the government only changing tack “under immense public pressure” as a “worrying constant”, pointing to Manoel Island as an example.
ADPD insisted the government not wait for protests and campaigns, but instead “honour its stated commitment to environmental preservation and community welfare”.
Taż-Żnuber should be immediately removed from any speculative development plans, the party said, while calling for it to be designated as an urban green space.
“The land is public and must remain in public hands.”