The activists who fixed banners outside the Zurrieq constituency office of Ministers Miriam Dalli and Stefan Zrinzo Azzopardi were right in what they did. All other channels being closed, this was the only way they could communicate with their parliamentary representatives, “their ministers”.
The message conveyed to the Honourable Ministers underlined their silence in view of the Nigret land controversy for which the two ministers are currently politically responsible: Zrinzo Azzopardi as Minister for Land Use Planning and Dalli as Minister for the Environment.
The activists could easily have added a third minister, Robert Abela. He too is elected from the fifth electoral district of which the Żurrieq locality forms part.
During these last ten years, the Labour Party did nothing to adjust, amend or repeal the rationalisation exercise piloted through parliament by George Pullicino in 2006 when he was the minister responsible for both Land use Planning and the Environment. Robert Abela was then one of the Planning Authority’s legal advisors through his father’s legal firm Abela & Stafrace.
The PN in Parliament, now shedding crocodile tears on our environmental rights, is primarily responsible for the developing land use planning mess. Yet the Labour Party, whose Members of Parliament voted against the rationalisation proposal way back in summer of 2006, have to shoulder the blame too, as for ten whole years they did nothing about it. They did nothing to translate their party’s political stance to concrete action.
As evidenced by a never-ending case law, no compensation whatsoever would be due if the rationalisation exercise is immediately abrogated. Yet the Labour Party in government continuously uses the fear of compensation to absolve itself of not acting for ten whole years. Ten years of silence, during which each and every one of the two million square metres taken up by the rationalisation exercise is slowly being developed. This is a two million square metres area which until 2006 was an area outside the development zone (ODZ).
One at a time we have been at a multitude of localities which today, 17 years after Parliament approved the rationalisation exercise, are feeling the pinch. Żurrieq follows Marsaskala, Iklin, Marsaxlokk, Mosta, Santa Luċija, Attard, Swieqi and many other localities. More will undoubtedly follow as Labour in Parliament does not have the courage to proceed with the cancellation of the rationalisation exercise. It prefers to play around with €700 million thinking that it is creating new “open spaces” when it can be much more effective if it starts by defending the countryside, the existing open space provided by nature for free.
The PN on the other hand excels at a particular sport: simultaneously running with the hares and hunting with the hounds. Its fifth district Members of Parliament (MPs Toni Bezzina and Stanley Zammit) were present at in-Nigret in a show of solidarity with the residents. Yet some hours later, its spokesperson on land use planning (Stanley Zammit) declared in crystal clear language that the PN was all for more development in the ODZ land annexed as a result of the rationalisation exercise! Why, then, did they turn up at Nigret?
The PLPN are together jointly responsible for the developing mess. PN in government created it, and Labour in government is now sustaining it when they can very easily bring it to an end, once and for all.
ADPD is the only political party which has clearly and repeatedly advocated the cancellation of the rationalisation exercise and the ruin of two million square metres of land, mostly agricultural. The others have continuously defended greed and overdevelopment, in the process slowly ruining the countryside that we have left.
Carmel Cacopardo is an architect, civil engineer and former Chairperson of ADPD