The Malta Independent 9 July 2025, Wednesday
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TMID Editorial: What is the government’s plan?

Friday, 12 July 2024, 11:45 Last update: about 13 months ago

It is very easy to question what the government’s long-term plan is for the country, mainly because looking around, it is hard to see one.

We can talk about having a good economy all we like, but looking around, do we like the island we’ve moulded? Buildings vying with one another to overshadow their neighbour, towering cranes round every few corners, traffic everywhere, tiny pavements which are often not level or perhaps obstructed... is this the Malta our politicians envisage for us?

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And what about those to come in the future... what kind of Malta will they inherit?

Malta’s population continues to rise at a rate by which the government seemingly has no plan in place to cater for. It would be perfectly alright had the infrastructure been planned for such an increase... but it wasn’t. Malta’s population is now nearly 600,000. Latch onto that the high tourism numbers. There was no clear plan for housing or traffic. We’ve all read stories about people living in single rooms, or even sharing a room with multiple people. This is abusive by landlords. Let’s also not forget about the abuse of workers also by some employers. There have been regulations introduced to try and minimise this, but more still needs to be done.

Roads are packed as the government has totally failed in enticing the public to stop using private vehicles and shift to public transport, or alternative modes of transport.

The hospital is at capacity, and while the government seems to have put together a plan to better the situation, its already too late in the day as so much time was wasted in a deal that was annulled by the courts in a judgement that used the term fraudulent.

The finance minister has mentioned the need for a change in economic model, but the government has done nothing to state what that change will be.

Planning policies are geared towards developers, and being realistic, the Planning Authority’s actions resulted in the uglification of the island. Serious changes are needed.

So what does the government need to do? Well firstly, it absolutely must tackle the traffic problem, and this not by widening roads. We need fewer cars on the road, period. The government and Opposition need to meet and come up with a plan that both sides back.

On planning laws, better uniformity for streetscapes is required, stricter rules on not building on ODZ must be created, and far better protection for heritage buildings is required. At the same time, major developments should not be allowed if the infrastructure in the area is not up to handling it.

Ideally an economic model that does not require so many workers needs to be thought up and rolled out, ideally with the backing of both the government and the opposition. This does not mean that Malta’s population will stop rising, it is doubtful that will happen, but perhaps it can rise at a more controlled rate, giving those in power a chance to act on ensuring that the infrastructure is in place to cater for a population rise in a way that does not cause infrastructural issues to the country.

 

 

 

 

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