Finance Minister Clyde Caruana stirred a hornet’s nest when he declared that Malta must start thinking of ways how to move away from relying so much on the construction industry.

We must shift from having an economy that is heavily based on construction, he told a pre-budget consultation meeting.

The country has always turned to the construction industry as a means to boost itself, under different administrations. But the time has come for a change in this mentality, he charged.

People are tired of seeing cranes and concrete, he said.

Caruana appeared to acknowledge that the government has done little to be seen as a protector of the environment. The government has credibility when it comes to economic strength and generation of employment, he said, but now “we must gradually build and improve its credibility on the environment”.

This is tantamount to admitting that the government has zero standing on the protection of the environment.

At last, someone from the inside is saying it. And it contrasts sharply with what Prime Minister Robert Abela said a few weeks ago – that the Labour government has the environment at heart, a statement few believed to be true. Now it is clear that at least one of his ministers does not agree too.

Needless to say, Caruana’s words alarmed the Malta Developers Association. While others rejoiced and the social media was abuzz with comments of approval, the MDA probably saw it as the beginning of a change in policy, one to the detriment of its members.

The construction industry wants clear laws and the removal of excessive bureaucracy, the MDA said in its defence soon after Caruana’s statement was reported by news portals. The developers are ready to embrace the challenges of an economy built on environmental parameters and strategic planning for sustainable development.

In the statement, MDA CEO Deborah Schembri said there are 40,000 families whose livelihood depends on this “precious industry”. Most of all, construction should not be considered as an enemy, she said.

Agreed, the construction industry is not an enemy. But neither has it been a friend, or tried to be one.

Seeing the backlash, Prime Minister Abela moved to rein in his minister, nipping in the bud any idea that the government is envisaging something different from what we have sadly become accustomed to. He said that the government does not want construction to stop. It just wants to have more aesthetically pleasing buildings, even when these are going higher and higher.

Well, all Abela has to do is look up while he is being driven around to his various appointments, and check for himself how many hideous edifices are sprouting everywhere, not only those considered to be high-rise. And maybe tell the Planning Authority to be more careful when some project application lands on its desk.

Then, in what appeared to be an attempt to sort things further, the PM and Caruana met the MDA in a highly publicised meeting, cooling down any acrimony that might have resulted from Caruana’s statement and putting things to rest.

The impression one got from all this is that everything is back to what it was, which is a pity, because what Caruana said made sense.

 

Population

Statistics show that, 90 years ago, in 1931, the population of Malta was around 240,000. Today, more than double that number live on the islands, but the country’s geographical size has remained the same – 316 square kilometres.

Except for a small drop in the 1960s, when many Maltese migrated in search of a better life, the population has steadily increased, with the greatest jump being seen in the last 10 years, when government policy attracted more and more people towards our shores.

Over the years, villages have expanded into towns, and the space that delineated the border between different localities was gradually filled up, meaning that now one residence in one locality touches another in a different town.

Many houses have been and will continue to be pulled down to make way for blocks of flats. The space that used to be occupied by a family of four in one house is now taken up by several individuals or families on top of each other in separate apartments.

The problem of limited space available has been overcome by going higher and higher. Malta’s skyline has dramatically changed in the last two or three decades, and it has not been for the better.

That’s the way it is and that is how it will continue to be, at least for some time, with the added burden on the infrastructure, drainage, utilities and the inevitable traffic and parking problems.

When Archbishop Charles Scicluna focused on greed in his homily on Independence Day, the construction industry was not far from his thoughts.

 

Planning

Successive governments have enacted laws in an attempt to bring in more rules, but the balance has always tipped towards development, leading to the denigration of environmental matters.

We have heard the phrase “concrete jungle” many times in the past years, because this is what it really is. We have all looked up and seen cranes dotting and spoiling the view. Those cranes in the distance are probably blocking roads, or limiting access.

We know that Malta is a permanent building site, and it has been like this for decades.

Eyesores are ugly, but what is more infuriating is the noise that the construction industry creates, as well as the pollution it generates.

Neighbours have been woken up by the sound of heavy machinery, and they have been annoyed by the volume of dust that penetrates into their own property, even when all doors and windows are shut. It is clear that although there are regulations in place, they are not followed, and it is next to impossible for the authorities concerned to monitor each and every building site.

And so there are many in the construction industry who take risks, knowing that it is highly unlikely that anyone turns up to check on them. Then again, if they do get caught in the wrong, the penalties can be easily absorbed.

The MDA takes offence when its members are criticised, but then developers – and their employees – do not make things easier for themselves. It is often the case that bullying tactics are used next to building sites by the workers and their big machinery, further deteriorating the rapport that should exist with the neighbours.

 

Accidents

We’ve had our share of accidents in the past years too, the most tragic of which was the death of Miriam Pace when the house she was in collapsed while excavation work was being carried out next to it. Other families also lost their homes which gave way as the site adjacent to them was being developed.

This is why there is always apprehension when people see notices affixed to doors or facades of buildings next to their property indicating that some kind of project will be taking place. Many times any objections they file are easily dismissed, because one cannot really stop progress. It is often the case that people end up not going through the trouble of submitting an objection, knowing that their effort will be in vain.

So they just wait and hope that the project will be carried out and completed without any trouble, and that the demolition and excavation work entailed will not cause any damage to their own property. They can do nothing about the noise and dust; they just grin and bear it.

What is unfortunate is that we only speak of regulations each time an accident takes place. Authorities insist on enforcement, which is hard to come by given the resources available and the number of projects going on simultaneously. But soon everything is forgotten until the next building crumbles.

Apart from this, many workmen have lost their life or were seriously injured in accidents that have taken place on the job. This means that so much more needs to be done on health and safety issues. But it is pointless to draw up regulations if they cannot be enforced or the workers involved then take risks. It is not the first time that footage emerges on the social media of some construction worker not using any safety equipment while carrying out some dangerous task.

The industry is then often accused of offering poor working conditions and low salaries to its employees, or at least some of them. Again, we speak of checks and balances but although this is an open secret little is done to bring things in order.

Then, when something as despicable as what happened a few days ago to that migrant worker who was allegedly dumped on the pavement after falling two storeys while on a construction site takes place, it is no wonder that the whole industry in seen in bad light.

Yet, this time the MDA’s reaction was not as immediate as it had been in reply to Caruana, when they saw his words as a threat to the industry. It took the MDA 24 hours to come up with a statement, and it was mostly to say that the contractor involved in the project was not one of its members. 

 

Big projects

The pulling down of houses and their replacement with blocks of apartments are developments that irritate the neighbours in the vicinity and cause disruption in the streets where they are taking place.

Bigger projects attract more attention on a national level. The concern that is expressed on the smaller developments is multiplied, especially when these could potentially encroach on land that is not supposed to be developed, or when the massive footprint and height of some new building will affect third parties, not only the residents living close to the site.

Controversies have erupted over the past years when applications for mega-projects were filed. Public pressure at times managed to force changes to the original plans, but these were often minimal and, by and large, it was always the developer who won the contest.

When this happens, the developers come across as being mighty, powerful and arrogant, bulldozing through irrespective of public protestations.

This is why the industry is not loved. It is something that we, and they, have to live with.

The MDA is right to say that construction should not be seen as an enemy.

But, to avoid that happening, it should first become friendlier.