“Successive governments promote land speculation and favour speculators. It is obvious why history repeats itself. It is because PL and PN have the same policy on land use, on the environment and in favor of land speculation. Comino does not need more buildings, it actually needs less, otherwise the special protection that Comino is supposed to enjoy means nothing”, said ADPD – The Green Party Chairperson Carmel Cacopardo in a statement about the proposed development on Comino.
“As we have seen in the recent past – including in the case of the Hilton development, that of the db Group in Pembroke, and of the public land concession to the Corinthia Group in Pembroke, and now even in Kemmuna, governments have changed the original conditions of the title of public land, so that from concessions for purely touristic use, land speculation is allowed. On Comino the construction of villas will be allowed, even though the whole island is supposed to be classified as protected in the context of the Natura 2000 network of sites. The scandalous conditions in the db Group and Corinthia contracts will now also be applied to the Hili empire which in the past the Labour Party had labelled as ‘barons’. Now apparently, the Labour Party has changed their designation for Nationalist ‘barons’ to Labour ‘insiders and friends’. Because for Labour in Government, it is the speculators who are protected, not Commino. A policy of equality for speculators. Instead of the government limiting people on Comino, apparently it will allow a luxury ‘village’ to be built with permanent residents on the island. This is absolutely unacceptable.”
“The proposed development on Comino (PA/4777/20), while on the site of an old hotel, which land was given by concession by the government in the early sixties, will mean an intensification of the use of the land taken up by the hotel. Instead of the nine existing bungalows nineteen will be built (700 square meters each) to be sold to private owners. The hotel will have 140 beds. All this on an island that is practically uninhabited, and which is the only island that is a reserve in its entirety. Government should seek to reduce the amount and footprint of buildings. The villa bungalows must be eliminated completely, and the footprint of the hotel should also be reduced!”
“There is no need for intensive development on Comino to rehabilitate and restore natural areas and disturbed land in the beaches of San Niklaw and Santa Marija. The days where public land is given for touristic development are long gone. There is no logical reason why this same land continues to be given over for land speculation. The case of Comino continues to confirm that the PLPN system is a system in favour of the interests of the few.”
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Il-barunijiet tal-Labour waslu Kemmuna ukoll!
“Gvern wara ieħor favur l-ispekulazzjoni u l-ispekulaturi. L-istorja tirrepeti ruħha għax il-PL u l-PN ghandhom l-istess politika dwar l-użu tal-art, dwar l-ambjent u favur l-ispekulazzjoni tal-art. Kemmuna mhux iktar bini għadha bżonn, imma inqas! Dan hu essenzjali jekk il-protezzjoni li suppost għandha Kemmuna tfisser xi ħaga.”
Dan qalu iċ-Chairperson ta’ ADPD – The Green Party, il-Perit Carmel Cacopardo fi stqarrija dwar l-iżvilupp propost fuq Kemmuna.
Bħal ma rajna f’numru ta’ każijiet fil-passat – fosthom dak tal-Hilton, tad-db f’Pembroke, tal-art pubblika f’idejn il-Corinthia Group f’Pembroke, issa anke f’Kemmuna, se jinbidlu l-kundizzjonijiet oriġinali tat-titlu tal-art pubblika biex minn użu purament turistiku issa anke fuq Kemmuna se jkun possibbli li tkun spekulata l-art, bil-bini ta’ vilel fi gzira li suppost hi klassifikata bħala protetta f’kuntest ta’ Natura 2000. Il-kundizzjonijiet skandalużi fil-kuntratti tad-db Group u tal-Corinthia issa se jkunu applikati wkoll għall-imperu ta’ Hili li fil-passat il-Partit Laburista qishom bħala barunijiet. Issa mid-dehra, saru ta’ ġewwa u ħbieb. Għax għal-Labour fil-Gvern, huma l-ispekulaturi li huma mħarsa, mhux Kemmuna. Politika ta’ ugwaljanza għall-ispekulaturi. Minflok li l-gvern jillimita n-nies fuq Kemmuna, milli jidher se jħalli li jinbena ‘raħal’ lussuz b’residenti permanenti fuq dil-gzira. Dan huwa assolutament inaċċettabbli.”
“L-iżvilupp propost fuq Kemmuna (PA/4777/20), filwaqt li huwa fuq sit ta’ lukanda antika, liema art ingħatat b’koncessjoni mill-gvern fil-bidu tas-sittinijiet, se jfisser intensifikazzjoni tal-użu tal-art meħud mil-lukanda. Minflok id-disa’ bungalows ezistenti se jinbnew dsatax (700 metru kwadru l-waħda) biex jinbiegħu lil sidien privati. Il-lukanda se jkollha 140 sodda. Dan kollu fuq gzira li prattikament mhux abitata, u li hija l-unika gżira sħiha li hija riserva f’pajjizna. Minħabba li Kemmuna illum hi protetta, għandna nfittxu li nnaqqsu l-footprint tal-bini fuqha. Hu l-każ li l-bungalows għandhom ikunu eliminati kompletament. U l-footprint tal-lukanda għandu jonqos ukoll!”
“Biex jiġu irrestawrati żoni naturali u art imħarbta fil-bajjiet ta’ San Niklaw u Santa Marija m’hemmx għalfejn żvilupp intensiv fuq Kemmuna. Iż-żminijiet fejn art tingħata għal żvilupp turistiku ilu li għadda; m’hemm l-ebda raġuni loġika illi biha din l-istess art tibqa’ tingħata għall-ispekulazzjoni. Il-każ ta’ Kemmuna jkompli jikkonferma kif is-sistema PLPN hija sistema favur l-interessi tal-ftit.”
