Speakers for ADPD – The Green Party called for the urgent revision of local plans during a press conference in Xemxija, where a proposed development in addition to a project to be built on the former Mistra Village site will be of great harm to the quality of life of residents in the locality.
ADPD Secretary General, Dr Ralph Cassar, said that the infrastructure of the zone earmarked for these two developments cannot take on a thirteen-storey high building: “This will literally choke the residents and will contribute to increased traffic congestion and poor air quality.” He said that when such towers are proposed in highly populated zones, impact assessments for such developments are not conducted.
This is the type of arrogance typical of the sector, taking what belongs to all, in this case taking away our history and claiming it for their own as if this is their divine right. Why should residents suffer for the benefit of a single developer? The quality of life of the Xemxija residents will certainly go down whilst fattening the pockets of the few.
Cassar also made reference to the loss of the biodiversity in the area. “How can the government say that they want to green the country and set up entities like Project Green and Ambjent Malta only to fail to look after what is already there? What coherence and credibility does the government have in terms of the environment?” asked Cassar.
Nature is also part of the environment. There is no need to have every centimeter of the country monetized. The common good and our history are being hijacked to make money. The identity of entire villages is being changed and destroyed by towers that make no sense in a country where we have a considerable number of empty houses, and our young people still cannot buy their house because prices are beyond their means, concluded Cassar.
The ADPD Chairperson, Sandra Gauci, said that after the publication of Jean Paul Sofia’s public inquiry which revealed the negligence and lack of enforcement of rules in the construction sector, one would have thought that this the sector would have made an examination of conscience and act less like a bully, endeavoring to frustrate and anger the people. On the contrary, it seems that everything has gone on normally and the arrogance is still there, stronger than ever, ever so merciless in the public eye, digging on the only open space that the residents of Xemxija have left: a place with cart ruts and historical Roman baths. But in the eyes of those who see only money and the only language they speak is that of ‘what I will put in my pocket’, they have no worth!
Gauci claimed that the construction sector has been given preferential treatment over the years by the government: “We believe that the sector should be highly regulated in the light of what emerged from the report. We cannot have one government after another turning a blind eye to this sector and letting it roll over the very people it is committed to protect”.
There is a dire need for people who really know how to do their job and greater monitoring on construction sites. The Planning Authority bears a large part of the blame for the devastation of the country because it has lost its authority, becoming a bureaucratic rubber stamp that one goes through with as little hindrance as possible. The Planning Authority is forgetting its duties towards the citizens who seem to be treated as a nuisance to megalomaniacs who want their dreams of towers become a reality.
We at ADPD has been vocal on the issue and have time and time again insisted that the local plans should be updated for today’s times, including the cancellation of the rationalization plans for once and for all. Now we are seeing the emerging reality in many parts of Malta. The lack of serious planning that we have seen in recent years has become a burden, and we will leave our future generations a country uglier than we found it, a country plagued by horrible, towering box-like aluminium structures blocking the sunlight and sky. Can we continue to sacrifice entire villages, our mental health and our quality of life for a handful of people? The citizens should show their indignation for what is being done in every village. And you will find us, the Green Party, behind you, Gauci concluded.
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ADPD issejjaħ għal reviżjoni urġenti tal-pjanijiet lokali
Kelliema tal-ADPD sejjħu għal reviżjoni urġenti tal-pjanijiet lokali meta indirizzaw konferenza stampa fix-Xemxija fejn qiegħed jiġi propost żvilupp li flimkien mal-proġett ta’ fejn kien hemm qabel il-Mistra Village sejjer jkun ta’ dannu kbir għall-kwalità tal-ħajja tar-residenti ta’ din il-lokalità.
Is-Segretarju Ġenerali tal-ADPD, Dr Ralph Cassar qal li din iz-zona bl-infrastruttura li għandha u bil-proġett tal-Mistra li qed jinbena ftit metri bogħod, ma tiflaħx għal torri ta’ 13-il sular. “Litteralment se tifga lir-residenti u tkompli żżid mal-konġestjoni tat-traffiku u l-kwalità ħażina tal-arja li diġà hawn.” Huwa qal li meta jipproponu dawn it-tip ta torrijiet f’żoni ippopolati lanqas biss jagħmlu impact assessment ta’ dak li jkollhom ippjanat.
Din hija l-arroganza li biha jimxi dan is-settur. Jieħu dak li hu ta’ kulħadd; f’dan il-każ l-istorja tagħna u jagħmlu tiegħu bħallikieku għandu xi dritt divin. Għalfejn għandhom ibatu r-residenti biex igawdi żviluppatur wieħed? Il-kwalità tal-ħajja tar-residenti tax-Xemxija se tkompli nieżla l-isfel filwaqt li l-bwiet ta’ xi uħud ikomplu jeħxienu.
Cassar irrefera ukoll għall-bijodiversità preżenti li ukoll se tispiċċa tintilef. “Kif jista’ gvern jgħid li jrid li jħaddar il-pajjiż u jivvinta entitajiet bħal Project Green u Ambjent Malta biex imbagħad li għandna diġà ma nieħdux ħsiebu? X’koerenza u kredibilità jkollu gvern f dak li għandu x jaqsam ma ambjent?” staqsa Cassar.
Is-salvaġġ ukoll hu parti mill-ambjent. M’hemmx għalfejn ikollok kull ċentimetru tal-pajjiż immonetizzat. Il-ġid komuni u l-istorja tagħna qed jingħataw il-ġenb biex jagħmlu l-flus. L-identità ta’ rħula sħaħ qed tinbidel u titkisser b’torrijiet li ma jagħmlu l-ebda sens f’pajjiż fejn għandna ammont konsiderevoli ta’ djar vojta u ż-żgħażagħ tagħna xorta ma jaslux jixtru id-dar tagħhom għax qed jintalbu prezzijiet li ftit jaslu għalihom, temm jgħid Cassar.
Iċ-Chairperson tal-ADPD Sandra Gauci qalet li wara l-pubblikazzjoni tal-inkjesta pubblika ta’ Jean Paul Sofia li kixfet it-traskuraġni u n-nuqqas ta’ infurzar ta’ regoli fis-settur tal-kostruzzjoni, wieħed kien jaħseb li dan is-settur kien se jagħmel eżami tal-kuxjenza u jimxi inqas ta’ bully f’dak li għandu x’jaqsam ma li jkompli jiffrustra u jirrabja n-nies. Imma le. Donnu kollox baqa’ għaddej normali u l-arroganza għadha hemm qawwija u b’saħħitha b’aktar minn qatt qabel. Anke quddiem l-istorja tal-pajjiż ma jkollha l-ebda ħniena u tibqa’ għaddejja gaffa fuq l-uniku spazju miftuħ li baqgħalhom ir-residenti tax-Xemxija: post li fih radded ir-roti magħrufa bħala ‘cart ruts’ u anke Banjijiet Rumani. Imma dawn ma jiswew xejn f’għajnejn min kull ma jara huwa l-flus u l-unika lingwa li jitkellem hija dik ta’ x’se ndaħħal fil but!
Gauci sostniet li is-settur tal-kostruzzjoni tul iż-żminijiet u taħt ħafna gvernijiet minn dejjem ġie aġevolat. Is-settur nemmnu li għandu jiġi regolat b’mod sever fid-dawl ukoll ta’ dak li ħareġ mir-rapport ta Jean Paul Sofia. Ma nistgħux nibqgħu bi gvern wara l-ieħor jagħlaq għajnejh lejn dan is-settur u jħallih jgħaddi romblu fuq in-nies.
Hemm bżonn ta’ aktar serjetà nies li verament jafu jagħmlu xogħolhom u iktar kontrolli fuq is-siti ta’ kostruzzjoni. L-Awtorità tal-Ippjanar għandha parti kbira mit-tort dwar it-tkerrih tal-pajjiż għax tilfet l-awtorità u saret rubber stamp burokratiku li wieħed ikollu jgħaddi minnu bl-anqas xkiel possibbli. L-Awtorità tal-Ippjanar qed tinsa id-doveri tagħha lejn iċ-ċittadini li kulma jmur saru biss fastidju li jxekkel milli l-ħolm ta’ torrijiet u megalomanija ta’ xi wħud issir realtà.
Aħna tal-ADPD ilna ngħidu ħafna li l-pjanijiet lokali għandhom jiġu aġġornati għaż-żminijiet tal-lum, inkluż li jkun ikkanċellat darba għal dejjem il-pjan ta’ razzjonalizzazzjoni. Issa qed naraw ix-xempju li qed isir f’kull parti ta’ Malta. In-nuqqas ta’ ppjanar serju li rajna f’dawn l-aħħar snin se jkollu jerfgħu il-piż tiegħu uliedna fejn se nħallulhom pajjiż aktar ikrah minn kif sibnieh aħna, bla ruħ għax ħlief kaxxi bl-aluminju koroh pesti mhux telgħin u fgati, imċaħħdin mid-dawl tax-xemx. Nistgħu nkomplu nissagrifikaw irħula sħaħ, is-saħħa mentali tagħna u l-kwalità tal-ħajja tagħna għal ponn nies? Iċ-ċittadini għandhom juru l-għadab tagħhom għal dak li qed isir f kull raħal. U lilna tal-ADPD se ssibuna warajkom, temmet tgħid Gauci.