While Prime Minister Robert Abela was busy congratulating himself for a ‘positive meeting’ with Moviment Graffitti activists at the height of the action in Mosta earlier this week, his planning minister was busy with quietly appeasing the same developers who are responsible for the destruction of our environment.

Thanks to Times of Malta’s reporting, we learned that last Friday, the government published Legal Notice 263 of 2023, which provides a three-year blanket extension to all planning applications that were set to expire by the end of next year.

The publication of this legal notice was carried out without any public consultation. Given that legal notices do not require Parliamentary approval before coming into effect, the government has effectively turned this into a strategy that is uses to pass legislative changes under the radar.

The same exact thing happened in March 2020, when the COVID pandemic was at its initial stages. Yet again, a legal notice was used to quietly give developers across the island a helping hand without any public consultation on the matter.

We strongly condemn this blanket amnesty since it will only serve to enable development which has been pending for years based on the thin excuse that many projects were halted due to the interruption of global supply chains.

It is also important to note that permits which were approved long ago and will be given an additional three-year extension will not be subjected to planning policies which were implemented after the permit was approved.

Developers who were not even able to start their projects within the timeframe that is given to them should not be rewarded with a universal extension, and should instead undergo the entire planning process from scratch.

We are not surprised by the fact that this legal notice is clearly the result of yet more lobbying from the Malta Developers’ Association (MDA).

Unlike the general public, the MDA evidently has the ear of planning minister Stefan Zrinzo Azzopardi, who has spent most of his tenure as planning minister bending over backwards to appease them while failing to take any action to rein in the construction industry’s deadly excesses.

When the MDA as much as whimpers, the government listens attentively. When activists, residents, and experts yell loudly at the top of their lungs about how the environmental situation in Malta is not sustainable, the government sends in the police. This is absolutely unacceptable, and we demand the immediate revocation of this legal notice.

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Stqarrija għall-Istampa 17.11.23
L-Amnestija għall-Iżviluppaturi

Waqt li l-Prim Ministru Robert Abela kien jinsab okkupat ifaħħar lilu nnifsu wara ‘laqgħa pożittiva’ ma’ attivisti tal-Moviment Graffitti waqt id-dimostrazzjoni fil-Mosta iktar kmieni din il-ġimgħa, il-Ministru tal-Ippjanar tiegħu kien mehdi jagħmel il-pjaċiri lill-istess żviluppaturi li huma responsabbli għall-qerda tal-ambjent tagħna.

Grazzi għar-rappurtaġġ tat-Times of Malta, sirna nafu li nhar il-Ġimgħa li għadda, il-Gvern ippubblika l-Avviż Legali nru. 263 tal-2023, li jipprovdi estensjoni wiesgħa u mingħajr limiti għal tliet snin lill-applikazzjonijiet tal-ippjanar kollha li kienu ser jiskadu fi tmiem is-sena d-dieħla.

Il-pubblikazzjoni ta’ dan l-Avviż Legali seħħet mingħajr l-ebda konsultazzjoni pubblika. Peress li avviżi legali m’għandhomx bżonn approvazzjoni parlamentari qabel ma jidħlu fis-seħħ, il-Gvern effettivament qed juża dawn l-avviżi bl-iskop li jdaħħal fis-seħħ bidliet legali b’mod qarrieqi mingħajr ma jagħti wisq fil-għajn.

L-istess ħaġa eżatt ġrat f’Marzu tal-2020, meta l-pandemija tal-COVID kienet għadha fil-bidu. Bl-istess mod, intuża avviż legali biex tingħata palata lill-iżviluppaturi kollha mingħajr ma saret ebda konsultazzjoni mal-pubbliku.

Aħna nikkundannaw b’mod sħiħ din l-amnestija universali peress li ser sservi biss biex tiffaċilita żvilupp li jkun ilu pendenti għal snin twal, bl-iskuża pwerili li kien hawn ħafna proġetti li kellhom jieqfu minħabba li ġew interrotti l-linji ta’ produzzjoni madwar id-dinja.

Ta’ tħassib kbir huwa l-fatt li permessi li ġew approvati żmien twil ilu, u li issa ser jingħataw estensjoni ta’ tliet snin, mhux ser ikunu soġġetti għal politki tal-ippjanar li ġew implimentati wara li l-permess ġie approvat.

Żviluppaturi li ma kinux kapaċi mqar jibdew il-proġetti tagħhom fiż-żmien li jkun ingħata lilhom mill-liġi m’għandomx jiġu ppremjati b’estensjoni wiesgħa bħal din, u minflok imisshom jerġgħu jibdew il-proċess tal-ippjanar mill-bidu.

Għalina mhijiex sorpriża li dan l-avviż legali huwa ċarament ir-riżultat ta’ aktar pressjoni min-naħa tal-Malta Developers’ Association (MDA).

L-MDA, b’differenza mill-pubbliku ġenerali, evidentament issibha faċli biex tiġbed l-attenzjoni tal-Ministru tal-Ippjanar Stefan Zrinzo Azzopardi, li s’issa qatta’ l-maġġoranza tat-tenura tiegħu bħala Ministru tal-Ippjanar jagħmel il-kuntrumbajsi biex jikkuntentahom filwaqt li naqas totalment milli jieħu azzjoni kontra l-eċċessi letali tal-industrija tal-kostruzzjoni.

Meta l-MDA titniffes, il-Gvern jiftaħ widnejh beraħ u jisma’ b’attenzjoni kbira. Meta l-attivisti, ir-residenti, u l-esperti jħambqu kemm jifilħu fuq kif is-sitwazzjoni ambjentali f’Malta mhijiex sostenibbli, il-Gvern jibgħat il-pulizija. Din hija sitwazzjoni inaċċettabli, u nesiġu r-revoka immedjata ta’ dan l-avviż legali.