Current and former presidents of Din L-Art Helwa write stiff letter to the prime minister
L to R: Martin Galea, Anthony Bonanno, Simone Mizzi, Martin Scicluna, Petra Caruana Dingli. Retired judge Maurice Caruana Curran was not at the press conference for reasons of health.
All five former presidents of Din L-Art Helwa – Martin Galea, Martin Scicluna, Anthony Bonanno, Petra Caruana Dingli and Maurice Caruana Curran – have joined the current president, Simone Mizzi, in writing a stiff letter to the prime minister.
The letter expresses their grave concerns about his environmental decisions and the direction his government is taking in these matters.
The move is unprecedented in Din L-Art Helwa’s 50-year history.
“The six Presidents of Din l-Art Ħelwa appeal to the Prime Minister to ensure that his legacy to Malta is not remembered for the further and rapid degradation of the built and rural environment,” they wrote.
“Din l-Art Ħelwa is concerned that the government has not drafted a solidly constructed new Strategic Plan for the Environment and Development and has only issued a list of objectives without the essential detailed policies that must underpin a Plan of this nature for it to succeed”.
“Malta has been left without a proper strategy for the future governance and good administration of its built and rural environment, thus inviting continued bad management and abuse to fester.”
“The government also intends to amend the legislation to enable the Strategic Plan to be approved by the Minister of Planning alone, without proper Parliamentary scrutiny. Given that the Plan involves a change of such social, economic and environmental importance, the attempt to bypass Parliament is a retrograde step which runs directly counter to the commitment to transparency and accountability which this government made on taking office”.
Read the full letter in The Malta Independent, below.
41 Comments Comment
Leave a Comment
http://www.independent.com.mt/articles/2014-10-31/local-news/Concern-over-environment-sees-Din-l-Art-Helwa-write-open-letter-to-Prime-Minister-6736124718
Does Martin Scicluna still think it was a brilliant idea to vote Joseph Muscat into power? Someone should ring him to ask him.
I think it’s clear he doesn’t.
His mere presence there diminishes the credibility of the other ex and current presidents. He is the Trojan horse for Din l-Art Helwa.
I don’t agree at all. He is an ex president of DLH and it would have been wrong of him not to support this strong initiative. What were the other presidents supposed to do? Tell him not to support them?
Martin Scicluna has been wrong about many things but he is not wrong on this one. If anything his presence should give a strong signal to the Prime Minister. Not that he cares.
He had also the temerity to present his face for the team-photo in the publicity given to the DLH letter.
Shouldn’t he be lending a hand to the Prime Minister, selling Maltese passports in Singapore?
Actually, didn’t Martin Scicluna see similarities between Malta and Singapore?
I recommend a better idea: dual citizenship (Maltese and Singaporean) to all Maltese and Singaporean citizens. Each passport valued at Eur 650,000. There are more Singaporean citizens, so they will owe us a balance.
The saturation point is here. Now.
I’d have expected better from you Jozef. You are usually spot on in your analyses. This time, however, you are wrong.
I hardly believe we’ve even begun scratching the surface of the extent of environmental, economic, political, and social disaster this administration is going to rain down on our country.
Saturation is miles away.
Saturation point was reached ages ago. In fact the previous government was very conscious of it and had started working on possibilities of restraint.
The people did not want that. The present government is going in the wrong direction; Malta requires more regulation not less.
It is the only way to see better distribution of wealth and not to limit the next step in progress.
Those that are advocating for lesser regulation are automatically killing their own quotidianum without knowing it.
No, it is here, we just don’t want to see it. It’s also why the previous administration was torn to shreds.
Muscat saw it and will exploit. Of course we haven’t yet seen the consequences. Blinded as we are with nostalgia for 1987.
Even Saviour got it wrong, or maybe he’s willing to play along, stick to his little patch. Disculpame requires collective consent.
When one major development proposed for St.George’s bay results in another enterprise postponing its plans, no MEPA can be held responsible for our predicament.
Which is just a mental state. The slowdown ensues.
Oh saturation in that sense. Then yes. I thought you meant people having had enough of Labour.
It started when Tuscany proved too much, Cambridge went to the new kid and l-Ahrax remained as it is.
When Gonzi challenged what happens in Mellieha he unwittingly sent out a signal to everyone else the big boy was no more.
Meantime every acre along the South coast was up for grabs, we ain’t seen anything yet.
I think you know how apartments are sold fully furnished, garage and wedding thrown in, these days.
Pop.
And no one mentioned financial sustainability. Are banks still willing to lend on construction projects?
No, it’s that simple.
Bank of Valletta thinks otherwise and losses accumulate.
Worst of all is the proposed change to the legislation, which Din L-Art Helwa singles out for mention in its letter, under which the Strategic Plan will be approved by the Minister of Planning alone and not by Parliament.
This means that the urban development boundaries can be extended by the Minister, one man in a position where he is exposed to corruption, without proper scrutiny. It removes the transparency of the current process and will inevitably result in substantial abuse.
Back to the eighties.
Back to the Golden Years of Lorry Sant .
And the posse of henchmen who gained in the process and under his ‘tutorship’.
One may mention the Ta’ Xbiex housing complex at the time when that Minister acted through the P.A.P.B………..
Suffice it to say that land in that area was among the costliest at the time. There are private mansions, erected at the time, still existing amid the terraced houses and flats. How come?
In future, if some jerk decides to drop down the house next door and erect a block of flats killing your property’s value, there’s nothing you can do.
Those who bought what they thought included country views must now go to the minister.
That’s what this means. And if Michael Falzon wants to justify the total removal of checks and balances and who abused the system, accepting payment to block a proposal, motive being bad blood, perhaps he should ask Astrid Vella.
The one in Ghadira was her method crystallised; she retreated all her objections saying there had been an agreement between the developer and the people she represented.
Policy can go to hell. l-aqwa li nirrangaw.
Remind me please. What was the Ghadira case you refer to?
Astrid projects herself as an environmentalist but operates as a paid consultant (even if, maybe, no direct financial payments are made to her personally).
The Tunny Net saga, she represented all objectors, citing the nature of the proposal as being against the spirit of regulations.
She then dropped the case, saying objectors had come to an agreement with the developer.
if that’s not hypocritical.
Very interesting – Marco Cremona was also being paid by the same developer (Silvio Debono).for ‘consultancy’ services.
The Tunny Net is owned by Seabank Hotel, i.e. Silvio Debono.
She was also involved in objecting to Silvio Debono’s Ghadira road relocation. Maybe she’ll tell us what she was paid for her ‘architect’s impressions’ and what receipts were issued.
Sorry Jozef but as much as I despise this lot and everything they stand for, the scenarios you describe were pretty commonplace during the last legislature. Ask any Swieqi resident.
Yes, and things came to a head in Swieqi and the PN voted out.
Lesson learnt; Labour couldn’t care less for the consequences.
If Gonzi had moved away from the drop down potential of property, no sanctioning, nothing outside ODZ, UCA’s, strict deadlines for permit execution and real monitoring, these guys intend to leave us at the mercy of every Chetcuti.
The abuse has taken on even more horrific traits lately; they’re simply dropping down, leaving an open scar, spray some mobile number and leave it for posterity.
Thank Musumeci for that, he was the one most vociferous against terms and conditions introduced which hindered such rape.
And these are our architects, supposed purveyors of our space and genius loci. Michael Falzon ditto, all they do is represent a misguided industry, leaving everyone mired in their indolence.
It’s too early to judge Gonzi, but were we hypocritical.
“In future, if some jerk decides to drop down the house next door and erect a block of flats killing your property’s value, there’s nothing you can do.”
Already done, with Astrid’s informed and very pregnant silence.
Oh! Has Martin Scicluna finally seen the light?
I think so. But don’t let him know that we know.
“The six Presidents of Din l-Art Ħelwa appeal to the Prime Minister to ensure that his legacy to Malta is not remembered for the further and rapid degradation of the built and rural environment,” they wrote.
I measure statesmen/politicians by one single metric: Would one be statueable after one passes away following a long career in the public service? OK, the spell check has underlined the word ‘statueable’, but I think everyone understand what I mean:
Would the Maltese people be eager to erect a statue of Joseph Muscat one sad day? How would the Maltese look on him?
What would the environment look like if the PL were to rule over us for five or ten years?
“The government also intends to amend the legislation to enable the Strategic Plan to be approved by the Minister of Planning alone, without proper Parliamentary scrutiny.”
Lorry Sant is alive and kicking.
Christ.
Well, it is Halloween, when the powers of evil are exalted, and undead stalk the land.
He is alive, Christians believe – but certainly not ‘kicking’.
This is all pay back time. No wonder Labour won with such a majority.
Now, it’s the Union Club, in the heart of Sliema, with a 33-storey tower built by the Gasan Group, shareholders in the Electrogas Consortium.
The Eden group will be adding more floors to their InterContinental Hotel and also getting a casino licence. And then there are all the horrible projects in the pipeline.
Taghna Lkoll. Just fantastic.
You forgot Mriehel earmarked for super duper skyscrapers, let’s see, Times of Malta, Gasan, Forrestals.
GWU got their trio next to ONE, and we’ve seen the plans how that one is a hub as well.
That’s three hubs, one more and it’s a car.
How cheap.
And every time it’s flaunted by any of the children or the family, cheap is the impact this has.
Cheap and vulgar.
So, if the strategic plan would need ONLY the approval of one person what would all those highly paid experts at MEPA be doing? Just spilling coffee on their desk?
Did they write this stiff letter on cardboard, then?
(with apologies to Fry and Laurie)
Vote Joseph, get Lorry!
It is a strategic plan for votes.
Payback from a resource which belongs to the nation.
Labour is generous with other people’s wealth.
Do you honestly and strongly believe that the PM Muscat cares? The 36,000 went to his head. Also they are paving the way for an other ‘Lorry Sant’ and for all of them.
That is why they are going to by-pass parliament.
Back to the 70s and 80s. They are greedy and corrupt and they are not satisfied with all they are getting right now. They are planning for more.