Dear Dr Gonzi,

BirdLife Malta considers it is in the public interest for the Partit Nazzjonalista to explain in detail its election programme proposal on the sanctioning of “building irregularities”. The vague language and terms of the proposal leave it open to wide interpretation and we are concerned that it could mean the sanctioning of illegal development in areas Outside the Development Zone (ODZ).

BirdLife Malta is afraid that this proposal could be used to legitimise the illegal occupation of public land and the numerous breezeblock-constructed hunting and trapping hides that have sprung up all over the Maltese countryside in the last 30 years. We believe that Malta needs proposals that fight illegal development, reward it with a stamp of approval.

In the voters’ interest, we would like the Partit Nazzjonalista to answer the following questions:

1. Does the PN proposal to sanction illegal development include illegal development in ODZ areas?

2. Would this PN election programme proposal mean that all buildings built without planning permission could be eligible to apply for an amnesty from the enforcement of their legal removal?

3. Would the proposed amnesty apply to the numerous illegal hunting and trapping hides (those built out of bricks and/or cement) built without planning permission on public and private land throughout the countryside in ODZ?

4. What does the PN proposal to sanction illegal developments exactly mean when it says that it will not cover those illegalities which are an “environmental blemish”? What is an environmental blemish for the PN?

Rest assured that once the Partit Laburista election programme is published, its proposals will also be scrutinised in detail.

Steve Micklewright

Executive Director, BirdLife Malta