It was almost two years ago that Prime Minister, Robert Abela, made a promise to implement a reform which would put a stop to construction developments going ahead when there is a pending appeal against them.

Indeed, it was during a Labour Party activity on Worker's Day in 2023 that Abela spoke of this "major reform".

"Does it make sense, if it ever did, that planning law allows construction work to start when the permit is still being contested in front of the tribunal or the law courts?", Abela had asked supporters back then.

In September 2023, Cabinet had approved a reform to the planning appeals process that would halt works until an appeal is exhausted, and a month later it was opened for a public consultation, which had then lasted a further month. Since then, silence.

The idea of the reform itself makes sense. There have been several occasions where a project is approved by the Planning Authority, is then appealed either through the Environment and Planning Review Tribunal or else through Malta's law courts, but works on the project start notwithstanding.

It happened in cases such as the Mistra Village - where, to add insult to injury, works only started after years of inactivity a few weeks before an appeals decision was set to be handed down - or by Infrastructure Malta in the case of the Central Link project, or even by a Government Minister with his pool which, by the time it was declared illegal (for a second time), had already been built.

Another case concerns a development of swimming pools in Qala by Gozitan construction mogul Joseph Portelli : the permit for this was revoked by the Court of Appeal, but the swimming pools were already built by the time that had happened.

Just this week, the Court of Appeal revoked another permit for the development of an ODZ swimming pool and landscaping works next to an apartment block approved along the Marsalforn valley in Xagħra - also filed by one of Portelli's associates.

The pools in that case have not been constructed, but the site has been excavated.

Earlier this month it emerged that the key stakeholders - the developers and architects - were still not happy with the proposed reform, which is why it has yet to be implemented. Environmentalists and NGOs, meanwhile, have been left in the dark.

Once again, this Government is using kid's gloves when it comes to handling any thought of reform that may affect the construction sector.

The Prime Minister is right in saying that we cannot freeze the construction industry as a whole, but we can certainly see that right to an appeal is not treated like a pointless exercise.

This is what the case is currently as things stand. An appeal takes a certain degree of time, and in that time the development being appealed could well be built - or at the very least, irreparable damage could be caused to the site where it is to be built.

Then sure - an appeal can be accepted and the permit struck off. But the development is already built. Then what? It's more likely to win the lottery than to see the authorities go down to the site in question armed with bulldozers to pull down what was illegally built, and then bill the developer for its troubles.

Right now, there is no effective remedy - even though a promise to that end was made way back in 2023.

There isn't even the excuse that these things take time. The Government has proven with its recent magisterial inquiry reform that it is perfectly willing to expedite its reforms and completely ignore what public stakeholders are saying should it deem fit.

So, where is the haste in this reform? Why has it remained on the shelf? We'll leave those open for interpretation.