The bottom line for some politicians and developers is more important than the well-being of people, Flimkien Ghal Abjent Ahjar head Astrid Vella said in a press conference on Wednesday.

GDP is their God, she said, not the electorate.

Vella was one of a speakers during a press conference held jointly with the Sliema Residents Association, in collaboration with the parish priests of all the parishes in Sliema, St Julian’s and Gzira.

Vella emphasized that the new development of more buildings are killing the community and making residents’ lives very difficult.

Vella said that currently developers aim to build high-end properties in these localities, such as at Town Square, when affordable property for young couples is needed.

The FAA is currently fighting to hand back Manoel Island, whose lease expires in 2026, to the people instead of “being extended for this capricious, speculative project which we do not need.”

Vella said that the common denominator of all three localities is the pressure due to their being overrun by tourism. “This has been a systematic plan for our areas spearheaded by developers and embraced by politicians who only consider GDP. GDP is God rather than the well-being of their electorate.”

The FAA contests this and does not just want higher quality tourists to generate higher, unfairly distributed wealth because the trickle-down concept is non-existent. She added that most of the hotels being built currently are no longer in the hands of tourist operators but are being built and run by developers who have no genuine interest in tourism but in the money.

Vella pointed out a study carried out by Deloitte last year which found that even as things were with the number of hotels that have been approved, Malta would need to almost double its touristic inflow. “We already cannot cope with the tourists we have, let alone doubling the incoming tourists in order to fill the hotels. It is unthinkable. Where are the residence rights?”

She shed light on the problem of noise pollution in the localities by showing a video of tourists disembarking a boat and the terrace of a restaurant pointing out that, “from 11 until after midnight we have to take this racket.” She said that when such parties disembark, it is not just noise but also drunkenness, vomiting and violence. With regards to the terrace playing music in public, she said that legally it should not only be indoors but within a soundproofed area.  

Vella said that prior to the FAA and Sliema Residents Organization’s protest walk on the front, the organizers were told by the police not to harass restaurants and not to touch the tables. She went on to question who the real victims are and said, “it is they [businesses] who are being thought of, not the residents.”

Vella took the opportunity to air grievances regarding Independence Gardens in Sliema, “I will make a special reference to the situation at Independence Gardens, which have been taken over by groups, groups of youngsters, mainly foreigners, who come along to practice their sport or dancing. So the older people who have gone out to enjoy the cool hours have these groups.” She elaborated, that these youth “compete” to have their sound systems louder than each other and furthermore, some make profit through the use of a free public space.

Louis Naudi, a member of the Association, pinpointed the blame for power cuts, drainage overflow and overdevelopment on the government’s inability to plan for such a great tourist influx.

“The major problem we have in Malta is that we simply do not enforce the laws which we currently have. So, to write letters [to the authorities], I think, is it's useful. I personally prefer direct action. And if you don't have direct action, then we can talk before the cows come home, because nothing is going to change.  I've always believed that at the end of the day, people will start to pay attention if you get out into the streets. We've seen what's happened in Valletta. Change will only occur when politicians realize that there's an angry bunch of people outside who are not prepared to tolerate it anymore”