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Plumbing through Prof Edward Mallia’s and George Debono’s replies to Michael Falzon (MaltaToday, 16 July), I felt snug in the conviction that out there are discerning citizens capable of standing up to the temerity being shown by our supposedly top planning brass.
In his piece ‘Not having to say you’re sorry’ (MaltaToday, 9 July), Michael Falzon bundles environmentalists in one basket, stating that they very rarely admit to making mistakes and that they are self-appointed ‘sappitutto’. Does Mr Falzon feel the urge to say he’s sorry when the need arises? A few cases in point – after accusing me of having ‘insider’ information from MEPA, he signed up for an online forum hosted by AD (Gozo), sampled the gist of what was being raised, only to divulge parts of it on a TV program on Smash TV. Where was his bona fide when he signed up for the forum. Did Mr. Falzon apologize for the sore thumb (alias Busietta Gardens) which has ruined a valley side in Gharghur? Did Mr Falzon apologize for the grotesque apartment blocks at Xemxija which are visible even from Selmun and Mellieha?
Incidentally, it seems that momentum for this chef d’oeuvre was cranking up throughout the previous weeks since this article came hot on the heels of another pearl – ‘This Fair Building Land’ (MaltaToday, 25 June). Michael Falzon should even apologize for treating the Maltese population as nincompoops with the use of such an obnoxious article title – with all the tribulations due to cranes, traffic diversions, loss of open space, air-borne particles, noise, etc that the Maltese have to bear up with, such a title is pathetic to say the least.
And Mr Falzon should stop tinkering with figures to his liking. The writing on the wall could not be more strident, from various indicators, not just local environmentalists. Take the EEA (European Environmental Agency) for example. In its latest publication on Europe’s coastline, we find that Malta, along with Lithuania and Belgium, as having an extremely high settlement density on a short coastline. In what should become an statement to quote ad nauseum, the report dedicates a case study to the Maltese reality and states that “At European level, it is difficult to see the growth in built up areas that Malta has experienced so far… this trend has undermined the available space for informal recreation, even for visiting tourists, and is an issue on an island where the only open space is the coastal environment”. At the same time, one does not need to refer to published reports – just get a reality check by driving through the Fgura-Mosta conurbation.
Alan Deidun
Hal Kirkop
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