For the last 70 years, magnificent trees adorned Notary Zarb Street, in Attard. They served the residents and commuters of the street with their aesthetic, ecological, social and economic values.
The trees contributed to fresh oxygen and captured carbon dioxide daily; they served as a barrier to the carcinogenic exhaust of the traffic in the street; they shielded the houses from the sun’s rays and also from the strong wind and rain to the extent that shielded rooms were spared the use of electricity to warm and cool houses.
They were a joy to behold, with roosting birds and their dawn chorus, thanking the Lord for lending them another day. They also served as a shield to the owners of the garages behind them to allow the cars to slowly zip in the traffic lane. They were a godsend to the residents and commuters in the street until Infrastructure Malta, part of Ian Borg’s ministry, intervened.
At 7am on May 27, workers on two cherry pickers with chainsaws in their hands were high up in the trees sawing off branches to their hearts’ content.
Residents started to gather, and Nationalist MP David Agius arrived on the scene. With every chopped branch falling to the street below, some of the ELC workers shouted “chop another one”.
According to the regulations for the protection of trees, workers had to show an ERA permit. They didn’t have one.
So, the work was stopped until the permit was produced. The permit clearly stated that one had 30 days in which to appeal the decision to chop the trees. The chopping stopped.
IM’s architect, legal officer and ELC representative appeared on the scene. The legal representative, with an air of entitlement, indulged in a partisan outburst directed at the Nationalist MP and residents. I was accused of working with ERA – when ERA was only formed years after I retired.
It was pointed out that the spending of EU funds necessitated a public consultation because the plans were changed after IM failed to remove the carob trees in Dingli. I was accused of getting inside information from ERA!
Shouldn’t the European Union be proud of a member state which uses EU funds for the destruction of the natural environment?- Alfred Baldacchino
IM’s legal officer could not come up with legal answers, especially when it was pointed out that the uprooting of the trees would deny the right of appeal as stipulated in the ERA permit.
IM’s lawyer said she felt she was being harassed because she was a woman and broke down! She was ushered away by IM’s architect and comforted by PN candidate Rebekah Cilia.
During all this circus, Infrastructure Minister Ian Borg passed by in his official car, videoing the butchering of the trees on his watch.
At about 4pm, workers were instructed by IM to continue with the chopping and uprooting of the trees. They even parked their vehicles in private driveways.
Before one could say ‘Frederick Azzopardi’, the trees had disappeared. A large excavator soon appeared on the scene pulling and pushing the stumps of the trees and uprooting them.
One by one they were carted off to be planted at Ta’ Qali. IM’s professionalism in this EU member state is indeed astounding.
No tree specialist was on site, unless, of course, ERA says otherwise. The water supply and the telephone service were disconnected. Should the Maltese be grateful to the minister in getting things done this way, especially when all works were being done with EU funds?
The trees were uprooted in a savage way. This is how IM get things done and it shows the glaring lack of the government’s political will and vision in the professional management of biodiversity and EU funds.
The official reason for this tree butchering was that these were a danger to safe driving. These trees were never a danger when the road was used for two-way traffic but they became a danger when the road became one-way!
I cannot but feel ministers’ presence every time I look at the place where the trees once grew. I cannot but feel the pain and cannot but conclude that such a ‘gift’ was delivered because we all work for the better appreciation and protection of our country’s biodiversity, for the good of the people, for the good of the country, and we have not jumped on the bandwagon of government-sanctioned destruction with EU funds.
Shouldn’t the European Union be proud of a member state which uses EU funds for the destruction of the natural environment?
Alfred Baldacchino, former Mepa assistant director