The arrival of summer has heralded not only the onset of hotter temperatures but also of widespread illegalities around the island.
While Marsascala residents fume about reduced accessibility after catering establishments hogged their public spaces, those in Valletta are incensed at the decision to allow loud outdoor music until 1 am.
A direct action by Moviment Graffitti at the Blue Lagoon also highlighted the situation on our coast. On the small island of Comino, deckchairs and umbrellas are set out across the public beach from early morning, making the €12.50 rental fee all but mandatory for locals and tourists.
Sunbed vendors were forced to watch last week as activists dismantled deckchairs to allow unencumbered enjoyment of the beach – at least for one day.
Elsewhere, contentious PA hearings and obstructionist appeals have restricted the public’s access to the scenic Blata tal-Melħ in Mġarr, where an eventual court sentence could set a legal precedent with disastrous consequences.
The owners, represented by Robert Musumeci, have erected what amounts to an illegal gate, and are appealing for its sanctioning.
The theft of public land is already encouraged by the Lands Authority, which, for example, sold off a public alleyway in St Julian’s to the Villa Rosa developer for a mere €134,000. But the general laissez-faire has spawned a new phenomenal practice: that of committing the illegality first, then applying for sanctioning.
"The one who should answer for this climate of impunity, especially in environmental matters, is none other than Prime Minister Robert Abela"
In many cases, those committing the infractions avoid enforcement and fines, and eventually get their reward with the green-lighting of these illegalities as if nothing had happened.
It is clear that the authorities are at melting point. The general atmosphere of economic deregulation has led to toothless, unmotivated regulators whose scope of action is either hampered by interference from above or run over by private interests.
The Environmental Resources Authority, for example, has shown itself to be weak on many an occasion, having secretly allowed the Fortina Group to build a jetty in Balluta during the swimming season.
But this doesn’t make it any weaker than the PA’s enforcement arm, which trumpets the removal of a few small-scale illegalities in ODZ areas while ignoring the widespread misdeeds of contractors like Joseph Portelli or Charles Polidano. Their business continues undisturbed under another summer’s sun.
The one who should answer for this climate of impunity, especially in environmental matters, is none other than Prime Minister Robert Abela.
Despite a more than reassuring majority and pledges of humility, he is busier censoring his MPs from dissenting than eradicating corruption and sloth among his ranks. It’s a missed opportunity to show that Labour is willing to emerge from the dark legacy of Joseph Muscat.
Even the more inspiring members of the cabinet are intent on walking his blurry line. During a conference about the state of the nation, Environment Minister Miriam Dalli told Graffitti’s Andre Callus that “extremism” and “blanket statements” will “lead us nowhere”.
It is saddening to see one of Abela’s top people accuse one of civil society’s most upstanding members of extremism, especially now that Graffitti has become such an important representative of popular anger at government policies, or lack thereof.
It is not NGOs robbing the public of its breathing spaces such as Miżieb and Aħrax, the Blue Lagoon, or Wied Żnuber.
It’s the unelected cabal of businesspeople and developers, aided by complacent – if not corrupt – politicians, who are the key culprits for all this.