Speakers from ADPD - The Green Party urged voters to choose representatives who prioritize the concerns of constituents in the upcoming local council elections to be held this June. They called for a politics for people rather than politics that prioritizes money and business ahead of the interests of the common good.
The ADPD Public Relations Officer and candidate for the Marsaskala Local Council Brian Decelis said that the issue of state-owned land taken up by catering establishments as an extension of their operations has been going on for decades. As an Alternativa Demokratika activist in the early 1990s, he had protested against the practice of granting public beaches as private beach concessions. “We would go in our swim wear and towels and swim in these bays, even cutting though wire fences that were installed by the business owners to keep out the public, business owners who most likely had friends in high places”.
Today we are witnessing a situation whereby public land, such as pavements, streets, and town squares are covered in chairs and tables, creating multiple problems for residents and communities across Malta and Gozo. There is the need for residents to have clear access to open spaces, and for local councils to main a healthy balance between the needs of the residents and the those of the business community. “That is why I am running for local council candidate for Marsaskala, to see that this balance is maintained in all decisions taken”.
ADPD Chairperson Sandra Gauci said that the Valletta residents’ anger towards the occupation of public spaces by chairs, tables, and other structures used by restaurants and other commercial establishments is justified, seeing that this encroachment has exceeded acceptable limits. Residents from other localities, such as Sliema, St Paul’s Bay, Marsaskala, Birżebbuġa and Mellieħa, face the same problems on a daily basis.
As a result of commerce without checks and balances and a political will that puts money and business interests above the people, a climate of impunity has emerged whereby owners of commercial establishments feel that they can ignore any regulations regarding their operations on public land as they know that there is a lack of enforcement of such regulations. It is worth mentioning that the current situation regarding public land is due to an inter-ministerial committee working together with representatives from the hospitality and restaurant sector, which specifically excluded the participation of representatives from the localities concerned. It is clear that these particular regulations were drafted, approved, and implemented in a manner that favours money over the people.
“The theft of open spaces from the public is widespread, seen in localities like Marsaskala and Valletta, where streets of historical value are not immune to this takeover. It has become a situation whereby you go to a popular beach and you find that it is already occupied by deckchairs from the crack of dawn. Even the Ombudsman has had to bring this to the attention of Parliament, calling for the authorities concerned to take action by confiscating the chairs and tables and fining the offenders”.
“For the upcoming local council elections in June, it is important to vote for those representatives who seek to promote people-centred politics and not those who place business interests above the interests of the people. Public land should serve the needs of the people first, and not that of business,” Gauci concluded.