I have, for years now, been highlighting the illegal activities of a quarry owner in Qala who has dumped thousands of tons of rubble, excavated from various parts of Gozo, on an area of virgin land known as ta-Muxi. In the process, many rubble walls were knocked down and flora and fauna destroyed. The council had written to the authorities to take action, but it was only when I went on national television showing a film of the illegal dumping actually taking place that Mepa put up enforcement notice on this site.

The quarry owner is now trying to have the illegal dumping sanctioned by covering it up with topsoil and planting olive trees. I organised a letter of complaint to Mepa in which some 28 land owners affected by the dumping asked Mepa to make the quarry owner remove the illegal waste from their fields.

The quarry was given its permit in 1998, with one condition being that the trucks would not pass through the village core but use an alternative route known as tas-Simar, which passes through fields and would cause minimal disruption to Qala residents. However, trucks still drive through Wileg and Conception Streets instead and disturb many households with noise and diesel fumes.

To ease the traffic of heavy trucks in the village, the council had made Wileg Street one-way for trucks, but these regulations are ignored as truck drivers still use this street as a two-way route. The narrowness of the road, the violation of the one-way system, and the excessive speed at which the trucks are driven, has been the cause of several accidents.

Sometimes, wardens or police patrol Wileg Street to book trucks contravening the one-way ruling, but of course when the police are there, no contraventions take place.

I have been suggesting that CCTV cameras be installed along Wileg, Conception and Simar Streets for the past two years. This way truck drivers would know they are being monitored and act appropriately or face financial penalties and/or revocation of the quarry permits for failure to comply with conditions.

(The Ħondoq EIA actually proposed that all traffic to Hondoq should also pass through tas-Simar Street. As it seems impossible to enforce the law with just one contractor, how can one hope to enforce the law on those thousands of people that visit Hondoq every year?)

Another condition in the permit was that the quarry owner should pay Lm2000 (€4,600) per annum to cover damages made to local streets. After 14 years, I do not believe the council has received one cent of this money.

Having lived all my life in Qala and five-and-a-half years on the council listening to the complaints of residents, attended numerous meetings with various authorities and after seeing with my own eyes what is happening, I strongly believe that the only solution is to install CCTV cameras at strategic points in Wileġ, Conception and Simar Streets.

The council has already requested Mepa to install and maintain such a system, since this is the only way to ensure that all heavy trucks pass through the streets they are meant to, as per the permit conditions set out by Mepa.

Paul Buttigieg

Vice Mayor

Qala Local Council