Prime Minister Robert Abela took to the stage of his party’s May Day celebrations to announce a “planning reform”.
It is quite unusual for any prime minister to make announcements of the sort during this particular festivity, which usually serves to faintly reaffirm Labour’s long-lost social values. It’s an underwhelming piece of news in a relatively subdued event, especially in comparison with the May Days of yore when the Malta Labour Party did not profess to be a party of “employees and employers”.
Acknowledging the need for planning reform is an admission of failure on many counts for Abela, who, a year away from the European elections, is facing increasing unease inside the PL at the ongoing incest with business lobbies.
Interestingly, the need to reform planning laws has been brought up many times by civil society, even way back in the period when Abela was a legal adviser at the Planning Authority. But Abela’s intentions aren’t to curtail the development lobby and its immense power but merely to open a new pathway for their interests.
The planning reform announcement came on the back of Abela’s previous statements about opening up to land reclamation, a new golden mile for the construction industry. Besides the dubious demand and need for such “investments”, land reclamation promises to be another bone of contention with civil society and the public since not only has development saturated our land but it will now turn to the coastal areas.
Another statement of intent was fired by Minister Aaron Farrugia who has relieved army brigadier Jeffrey Curmi from his role as Transport Malta CEO and replaced him with Jonathan Borg, a board member of the Malta Maritime Forum and chairperson of Yachting Malta, the ideal choice for those who need to navigate the waters.
Project Green has already shown to be lacking fibre: the promise to buy back land from private owners has apparently vanished and, instead of new open spaces, the public reads about massive developments being proposed on a weekly basis. Rather than an investment in urban spaces, it comes across as a rolling roadshow for MEP candidate Steve Ellul, whose €700 million budget in the election year is set to ruffle feathers.
The signs are hardly encouraging and Abela’s credibility on the matter remains somewhat questionable. During his May Day speech, he said that it was unacceptable for developments to commence while they are still under appeal. Ten days later, the court of appeal revoked a permit in Mellieħa and sent a massive Xemxija project back to the planning tribunal. In both cases, the courts confirmed that the approvals were vitiated; in both cases, works had already commenced (the Mellieħa hotel is virtually completed).
But Abela was privy to this loophole since his days as PA adviser and these are not the first such cases.
He has had ample time as prime minister to fix this gross injustice and his statements come late and short of weight.
More so when the Planning Authority continues to dish out unjust, unethical, incomprehensible permits and refuses to enforce its own regulations. Whose direction is the PA’s CEO, Oliver Magro – appointed by Abela himself – really following if not that of the OPM which is the traditional controller of the planning realm?
Beware of lawyers bearing planning reforms: not only does Labour has a history of writing loophole-ridden regulations but it is merely trying to divert attention from bread and butter issues by making grandiose announcements. A bit like a massive horse of surprises ready to assail our neighbourhoods and, possibly, our seas too.