I’ve never been a great one for taxi small talk but I think I must have one of those faces that people feel comfortable talking at. In the past, the topics of conversation were far-reaching and ranged from food to relationships but the last four or five rides I’ve been on have all started and ended in the same way: ceaseless complaining about how bad the traffic is followed by how overdeveloped Malta has become. And, believe it or not, I’m not the one starting or actively contributing to these interactions.

It’s the same whenever my foreign friends come over. They arrive full of excitement and big dreams of lounging by the sea as they have done in previous years but, within the first half an hour of them touching down, they’re already looking wide-eyed at new developments and asking me questions I can’t answer about how the government allows so many interminable works to happen at once. By the time they get to the beach and try to fight for a spot to lay their towels on, they already look like they want to go home.

I’m sad but never surprised when others point out our gaping issues to me. However, what never ceases to amaze me is when, once a year, someone usually associated with the tourism or building sector decides to say that Malta is more beautiful now than it was in the past. This week it was a Planning Authority top official who said that he “doesn’t agree that there’s been an uglification” of the country’s landscape and that most people want more land to be open to development, not less.

Apparently, there is still a “substantial amount” of building volume to develop. I mean, I know that we don’t all live in the same reality but, sometimes, I wonder if I’m living in the same place as the people who are seeing these massive swathes of land which are ready to develop. I guess that’s what you get when you inexplicably make someone who has previously worked for developers a PA chief.

Furthermore, saying that people want more land to be open for development is neither here nor there. Many Maltese people have shown time and time again that they care little for the common good, preferring to line their own pockets and take care of their own kith and kin.

Seeing how much you can get away with before you bump a big toe with the law might as well be a national sport on this island. And with the prices of houses and flats continuing to rise steadily, despite the evident oversupply, people will continue trying to find new ways to exploit the little they do own.

That’s why we’re meant to have rules, regulations, governing bodies  and planning authorities, so someone will be there to take out a big stop sign when people inevitably get greedy. That’s why it’s important whom you choose to run things. Of course, if you’re part of the problem, then you will, in turn, also select people who are as problematic as you.

Maybe we should focus more on growing our minds instead of constantly focusing on our pockets.