A group of Mellieha residents together with their mayor and deputy mayor on Saturday held a demonstration on the site of the contentious Mellieha Heights development.
The demonstration drew a sizeable crowd of residents and was led by Mayor Gabriel Micallef, Deputy Mayor Matthew Borg Cuschieri and resident Olivia Gauci.
The development permit issued to Paul Attard, Secretary General of the Malta Developers Association, was fast-tracked and issued within a record two-month period. This came after residents had requested an investigation by the NAO on the transfer of this public land for a paltry €380,000 in yearly ground rent, which effectively allows Attard to sell 109 apartments built on public land whilst transferring the ground rent onto the prospective buyers.
Olivia Gauci questioned why the Prime Minister had stated twice - in response to the Mellieha Heights saga - that no more public land will be given away for private development. However, in both cases, he stopped short of saying that the Mellieha land will be taken back by the government. "Why is this happening to us residents of Mellieha?" she asked.
Mayor Micallef said that the Local Council was committed to ensuring that the development does not go ahead. "We are still in time to save this area and to turn it into a public open space," he said. "We will not stop here," he promised.
His sentiment was echoed by Deputy Mayor Matthew Borg Cuschieri, who questioned the principle behind the sale of the land for such a small sum. "What is leftist, socialist or Labourite about this deal?"
Residents carried placards saying "are we worth less than €380,000 in yearly ground rent?" and "Prime Minister, why are you avoiding us?" The event, organised by Residenti tal-Mellieha and Il-Kollettiv, was also attended by local councillors, members of political party Momentum and Nationalist MPs from the district.
Only last Tuesday, the residents wrote to the Prime Minister asking his intervention in an open letter signed by over 100 people. In response, the developer commenced works on the site in Mellieha three days ahead of what had been communicated to the residents.
In a statement, il-Kollettiv stated that developer Paul Attard is doing his utmost to commit the site before the results of the NAO inquiry on the land transfer are published. "The Prime Minister is ignoring the residents' calls for a meeting, and while stating his stance against public land developed by private interests, authorities such as the PA and its board members are working hard to deliver the exact opposite. This is hardly the attitude of a PM who claims to be socialist, and who works for the people. Whenever the loss of quality of life caused by the construction industry in all towns in Malta is highlighted, he can only turn his back onto those who elected him."
The group said it remains committed to working with the residents of Mellieha and their Local Council, "an example of how genuine and meaningful collective action, free of partisan interests, should work for the good of our quality of life."
Among those present were Arnold Cassola and Carmel Asciak from Momentum.
Arnold Cassola stated: "The public land at Mellieħa Heights given away by the government for private development follows the same pattern as the public land deals in Pembroke and Qajjenza and flies into the face of the government's empty talk glorifying the creation of green open spaces".
Carmel Asciak, treasurer of Momentum and himself a resident of Mellieħa, stated: "This is one of the last green lungs still existing in Mellieħa. If the development goes ahead, it will significantly impact the quality of life of us residents. How can we believe Robert Abela when he says that he is against public land being sold to private developers, if he declines to stop this destruction"?