Malta’s politicians administering public land as though it were theirs, PD insists

Public land and sea are being administered as if Malta was government as a fiefdom with no laws to limit government, Partit Demokratiku said on Tuesday.

“Public assets are being misused and our natural heritage is being squandered. The latest mega-project by Corinthia Group has all these hallmarks,” PD said.

It added that concessions by “OPM Castille of a preferential allowance on the adjacent sea water for land reclamation” was indicative of the fact that the government is steamrolling over the public’s natural public domain assets, stressing that coastal shores and seas belonged to the public.

“The megalomaniac frenzy of high-rises by hoteliers turning into property developers has been noted, amongst others at Tigne Point Fortina, Manoel Island and in and around the cradle of St George’s Bay,” the PD said. “They are all executed by under-valued market prices in what seem to be pro-shady deals that go against the public interest.”

This, it said, had become the hallmark of a senseless government that does not support Malta’s sustainability.

“To add insult to injury, the people have no access to government-held information,” the PD said, insisting that Prime Minister Joseph Muscat had not delivered on his 2013 promise of an open government.

The PD said that such “mega projects” would increase the supply of up-market apartments without “coming anywhere close to solving Malta’s housing crisis”.

“Developers who are privileged with concessions, should be made to pay social tax, even in the form of affordable housing elsewhere on the island.”

Finally, it said was evident that the present administration was currently “riding a wave” given that the country’s laws do not have an in-built mechanism to ensure financial propriety.  

READ MORE: Corinthia project will replace hotels with 12 tower blocks