Estate agents have seen their sales plummet in the last months. Banks have severely curtailed their loans linked to building. Many are expecting a collapse of the building industry in the near future. Whether this will happen is unknown. What is certain is that it is the buildings themselves that are collapsing now.
The crocodile tears from politicians, following the recent collapse of a number of buildings, have no reason to exist, because it is these politicians who have allowed developers and strong business people to take over the running of the country.
Just look at how db owner Silvio Debono candidly claimed that he paid the salary of the PN general secretary. Look at how Keith Schembri arrogantly had told the Times of Malta journalist, Jacob Borg, that he was paying his salary. Was any action taken by the police, the courts or the government against this arrogant and illegal behaviour?
Nothing, as far as I know.
And what about the disastrous 2006 pre-election decision by George Pullicino, who added around two million square metres to the buildable land available to developers?
The advent of the Muscat government six years ago simply continued the trend and opened the floodgates.
One of the first measures of the government was to allow hotels to add two storeys to their properties. A senseless exercise that has led to our skylines being further ruined, residents being further oppressed in their homes and quality of life further declining. The result? The MHRA president is whining that hotels do not have sufficient occupancy.
The major causes of these building collapses lie in Muscat’s pact with Malta Developers' Association president Sandro Chetcuti. In his pre-election 2013 dealings, Joseph Muscat put the fourth floor of the PL headquarters at the disposal of the developers, with contractors becoming uncomfortably close to the Labour Party.
The wheeler-dealing taking place on this fourth floor got so dangerous that the present Speaker of Parliament, Anġlu Farrugia, denounced his party’s intimacy with building developers and other businessmen, whom he described as the ones who “wield power in the country. Contractors are too close to Labour like some are close to the PN. I know they are close with certain people involved in the Labour Party’s finances”.
Following this pact with the devil, Muscat embarked on his mission of dismantling Mepa, in order to better facilitate the ‘free for all’ for developers.
Through this reform, the ERA (Environment and Resources Authority) has been wilfully reduced to a toothless entity. It can criticise and point out deficiencies but hardly any of its recommendations are taken on board.
The advent of the Muscat government six years ago simply continued the trend and opened the floodgates
The steam-rolling simply continues. To crown it all, Muscat nominated a party faithful as CEO of the Planning Authority, who in January 2014 travelled to London with a developer and a bank official, all staying at the Royal Garden Hotel in London.
They were there to watch Chelsea play its sparkling brand of football.
The only snag was that the hotel was booked for all three by the developer, while his multi-million application was being examined by the Planning Authority. Yet Muscat takes no action.
Following this exercise, Muscat appointed as his consultant the architect well known for his legalistic-architectural contortions in order to ensure that developers can exploit to the full every available inch of land in our country. With the excuse of eliminating excessive bureaucracy, we have ended up with such innovative practices as the building of 10-roomed hotels, under the guise of agritourism projects, and enormous 3,000 square-metre petrol stations, all in ODZ areas.
Muscat then allowed certain tricks that favoured his developer friends. The most notable of these was the last-minute insertion of Mrieħel by stealth amongst the high-rise areas. Electrogas operators Tumas and Gasan suddenly found themselves benefitting from such measures.
And what about land given for peanuts in Żonqor to a Jordan group or to Silvio Debono in Pembroke? All this was done with the blessing of Muscat.
And what action was taken when the law was blatantly broken by developers? What happened when the MDA general secretary’s company occupied the pavement and the rocks for years in the building near Barracuda in St Julian’s? And when they built enormous extendable balconies over the public rocks and shoreline?
As far as I know, nothing.
So, Muscat, stop with the crocodile tears. The pitiful situation through which residents are now at the mercy of developers has been brought about mainly by your policies made in the past six years.
You reap what you sow. Unfortunately, we too must reap what you have sown.
Arnold Cassola, academic and politician, is former secretary general of the European Green Party and former member of the Italian Parliament.
This is a Times of Malta print opinion piece