It is all about greed and ego

I apologise for being parochial. But I cannot let this go by.  This is about a proposed 46-room hotel in the centre of Naxxar’s historic core and why people have had enough.

There used to be a time when Naxxar was synonymous with Angelo Xuereb. It was also a quaint small town. Since then, the Xuerebs have spread their wings to every corner in Malta and beyond.

Every village and town in Malta has its millionaire—that person with tonnes of money to spend. Naxxar has a few of these characters but the one that sticks out like a sore thumb is Victor Chetcuti—an entrepreneurial chap, who in my younger days I remember as a canvasser for a Nationalist minister.

Good for him. But Chetcuti was always known for one to dabble in property, most especially after the change in the local plans in 2006. Like all good fellows, who invest in property, the religion that guides people like Chetcuti is based on one simple understanding—make the best of the footprint; make as much money as is possible and to hell with the rest.

Chetcuti has been buying up properties in Naxxar. Apart from buying the former football club premises in the square, he also purchased a house in the urban conservation area. We were all hearing that he wanted to convert the house, which has one of the last remaining big gardens into a boutique hotel. That is until the plans surfaced.

The boutique hotel turned out to be a cage-like contraption on six floors built in the garden behind the house, which according to our planning laws is still possible because it is not strictly in the urban conservation area.

Of course, this is not a boutique hotel but an outsized hotel.

Now, let me take a step back and go back to Robert Abela’s electoral programme. This was drawn up mostly by former deputy leader Daniel Micallef, who for all his faults still can be credited with a social conscience. The commitment by government was to offer a 500m buffer zone from the UCA to avoid having homes in the historic centres caged in like sardines.

For very obvious reasons this proposal is not a priority and is nowhere near implementation. What is a priority today for every politician is to lick the ass of the construction and real estate industry. They are the people, who despite their ignorance of cultural sensitivities, are experts in making money for themselves.

Now, fast forward to Naxxar. The people, including myself, who have lived all their life in the historic centres, do so because we believe in the need to gentrify our forgotten villages.  Hundreds of people have flocked into Malta’s historic centres and invested in beautiful homes and old gardens. They have reignited life in these centres. They have moved here for peace and quiet and for the sheer beauty of these localities.

That is until people like Victor Chetcuti arrive on the scene. Not only did Chetcuti ask his architect Edwin Mintoff to build an ugly abomination but more importantly to maximise every single square metre and to hell with the residents. To ensure servicing of the hotel, Chetcuti also purchased garages leading to the garden from the behind the UCA.

The area that this hotel is being proposed on has some serious problems of parking, flooding and sewage overflows. The sewage problem is well known to the authorities for the last 35 years and for reasons known only to them have never been solved. There is no doubt that the serenity of this historic core will be altered by the presence of over 100 tourists or more a day, apart from the staff that will keep the hotel running. Not to mention the noise, the cars and trucks and the works that will come before this project is finalised.

This project in Naxxar, which will be opposed by many residents and the brave Naxxar council, is a repeat of similar stories in every other town and village. It reflects our culture of greed and the craving to want more.

The policies that govern the Planning Authority are what they are because the politicians want them to be that way. The prime minister is an expert in planning law, having run the PA’s legal department for years. He knows exactly what the problem is and he knows what the solutions are. His failure to address them is because he knows that if something changes, he will have the construction and development magnates at his door crying wolf. For these magnates, Malta and Gozo could be turned into a lego of concrete blocks, and they would be happy as long as their coffers fill up with gold.

A year ago, after the European elections, the prime minister talked of listening to the people’s concerns. One prime concern was about the incessant construction that was changing the quality of their lives and their homes. Since then the government has done next to fuck all to address this situation. In fact, there have only been reactive moments such as the U-turn on Manoel Island.

If you want further proof just see all the exemptions to excavations and demolition works in touristic areas such as Paceville issued by the minister concerned. As we all know the demands of the big boys are far weightier than those of the common citizen.

It is no joke when people say they do not want to vote. They may not vote for the Nationalist Party, which has little to show for when it comes to values, but they will vote for the party of the non-voter.

Sur Gvern, you cannot go on running roughshod over all citizens. The majority are not developers and construction magnates. The majority do not sponsor the political parties. The majority want to live in a peaceful home.

Every single morning, I wake up with the rattle of an excavation digger on one of Victor Chetcuti’s developments. It goes on all day and will go on for weeks to come.

We talk of quality of life; living on a special Island, and all that bullshit, but nobody talks of living in peace and tranquillity. Yes, people want a good quality of life but it does not take much to understand that quality is about simple things.

I am not a conservative nerd but I am not in favour of having tourists walk down my alley in tangas and holding a joint. This is not about being liberal or not but about being respectful to communities. And yes, I am not in favour of seeing restaurants and bars in every corner and noise going on until the early hours of the morning. I am sure most of the residents of Naxxar and every other town think the same.

But the thinking process in government circles is growth, growth and growth. If it means attaining the figure of 4.5 million tourists (see Vision 2050), then in their eyes this is what progress is all about.

But it is a warped way of seeing the future. The sad thing, is that there is no one to stop them.

Which is why I have only a few words to spare for the PN. Today, no one thinks the PN can offer a solution to all these problems. Definitely not with Adrian Delia or Alex Borg at the helm. Many see in these two potential leaders, another two politicians who are comfortable sleeping with the big boys and unwilling to rock the boat.

So, I am afraid the only route left is for the people to speak up, rattle the system and join the coterie of non-voters.