Meta indirizzat konferenza tal-aħbarijiet quddiem Kastilja iċ-Chairperson ta’ ADPD-The Green Party Sandra Gauci qalet li din il-ġimgħa, il-Prim Ministru ixxokkja lil kulħadd meta qalilna li sidien ta’ strutturi illegali se jibbenefikaw minn għajnuna li l-Gvern bi ħsiebu jagħti lil min sofra ħsara mill-maltemp li laqat lil Malta riċentement. Fi kliem ieħor, qalilna li ma jiswa xejn li timxi mal-liġi.
Tajba ukoll! Fejn hi l-ġustizzja f’dan il-pajjiż? X’sar minnha l-boxxla morali? Jekk iitella’ bini b’mod abbużiv, kull m’għandek tagħmel hu li tħallas xi ħaġa żgħira tal-flus u tirċievi indulġenza plenarja, qisu xejn mhu xejn. Rajna kif ministri involuti fi skandli kellhom ir-reputazzjoni tagħhom imnaddfa, u sabu ruħom b’xi inkarigu privileġġjat, imħallsin bi flusa stess. U bħal li kieku dan kollu ma kienx biżżejjed, issa ġie jgħidilna li wara l-ħerba li ħalliet warajha l-maltempata Harry, lest li jinsa li dawn il-kostruzzjonijiet huma illegali, u jagħti l-għajnuna xorta waħda. Trid tara biex temmen!
Il-Prim Ministru żelaq fin-niexef, u mhux ta’ b’xejn kienu ħafna li lissnu l-iskantament u l-għadab tagħhom, fosthom NGOs u l-Kamra tal-Kummerċ. ADPD tingħaqad ma’ dawn l-entitajiet u tesprimi l-kundanna tagħha għal dan l-aġir irresonsabbli. Kif tista’ qatt tiġġustifika li fondi pubbliċi jintużaw biex iwieżnu l-illegalita’? Dawn l-istrutturi huma illegali għaliex mibnijin fuq art pubblika, jew għaliex jingumbraw il-post, jew għaliex jafu jkunu ta’ periklu. Ma jistħoqqilhom ebda kumpens. Ma nistgħux ninnormalizzaw l-abbuż u ma nistgħux naċċettaw li l-liġi tista’ tinkiser bla mistħija u bla konsegwenzi.
Jiġifieri jekk tħallas ammont simboliku, dak li kien ħażin sar f’daqqa waħda tajjeb? X’inhi l-loġika hawn? Iċ-ċittadin huwa kontra dan l-isfreġju, imma l-Prim Ministru qiegħed jipproponi li dan l-abbuż għandu jiġi premjat bi flus iċ-ċittadin stess! Surreali tassew!
Minflok ma jipprova jogħġob lil kulħadd sabiex jakkwista vantaġġ politiku, il-Prim Ministru għandu juri sinsla u jieħu deċiżjonijiet ibsin u favur il-ġid kollettiv. Jekk ma jagħmilx dan, jitlef kull kredibbilita’. Huwa daħk fil-wiċċ li jiġi jgħidilna li sidien ta’ strutturi illegali jistħoqqilhom xi għajnuna, ladarba b’mod maġiku jirregolarizzaw il-binjiet tagħhom.
Id-dmir tal-Prim Ministru hu li jaħdem għall-ġid tagħna lkoll, imma issa qegħdin naraw biċ-ċar li akar lest li jaqdi u jaġevola lil dawk li ma jossevawx il-ligi u li dejjem issibhom b’xi illegalita. Hemm bżonn li llum qabel għada, inreġġgħu il-ġustizzja f’dan il-pajjiz, għaliex il-poplu ma jistħoqqlu xejn anqas.
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PM Abela favours illegalities
ADPD-The Green Party Chairperson Sandra Gauci addressed a press conference in front of the OPM today regarding the absence of good governance. We had a clear example this week showing us that under this government, anybody doing anything that is against the law has a greater chance of having it good much more than the honest citizen. Is it worth obeying the law? Is there any sense of justice anymore?
The moral compass, if there ever was one, is broken. We have seen illegal developments being sanctioned, former ministers whose reputations have been laundered and reappearing in well-paid cushy jobs paid by tax-payer money, and now we see that taxpayer money is being planned to assist owners of illegal structures damaged by Storm Harry.
This decision has angered many resident organisations and NGOs, as well as the Malta Chamber of Commerce. ADPD-The Green Party has also raised its objections. How can something that is illegal be given assistance from public funds? One of the reasons why these structures are illegal is that they should not have been there in the first place. Whether it is taking over public land or simply outright unsafe, they have no right to be rebuilt or repaired.
So instead of taking advantage of this storm to free residents of these structures which should never have been there in the first place, the government has pandered to the individuals responsible for rogue structures, rewarding them with taxes paid by citizens, many of whom are appalled by this turn of affairs. This is on the same wavelength of the proposed legal reform for development, which many people took a stand against just a few months ago. So it’s a situation where one pays and it’s completely acceptable to break the law. What is illegal will magically become legal.
The measure of what is right and wrong is now lost, as it seems that power triumphs over everything, at the price of what is just and the common good. When you are a Prime Minister that tries to please everybody, you lose all credibility. Trying to make it more reasonable by giving individuals time to legalise illegal structures so that they qualify for funds shows a lack of backbone when dealing with those who violate the law.
The Prime Minister is there for all, but time has shown that he is there simply for business and is ready to do anything to appease these people. The people need to be given back the sense of justice that has been slowly stripped away over the years. Justice is what works and provides citizens the protection they need. Unfortunately, this is not being felt.
