Tag: ODZ

Categories
Politics

The Wisdom of Tomatoes

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I saw this meme the other day that had a couple of paraprosdokian phrases and particularly liked one of them. It said “Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit, wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.” Often life has its ways of coughing up situations that are full of tomato conundrums. Take the problem raging in the US’s southern states after the massacre of black persons in a church. The huge debate is whether the “confederate flag” – for long a symbol of slavery and suppression – should be banned and removed from public places.

The killer in the church shootings was a southern fanatic and publicly acknowledged that he did what he did because he wanted to provoke another civil war in the name of the confederate flag. So what do they do? They blame the flag. They blame the symbol. Sure, because it was a flag that shot and killed nine innocent persons in a church. Not guns. No. Definitely not guns.

The root of the problem – legal purchase and possession of weapons in the US is nowhere near being tackled because of the US’s perverted love of the right to bear arms. The Americans prefer to keep putting tomatoes in their fruit salad.

Back home we have just heard the announcement of a new possible 40 storey colossus in the middle of Sliema. What is another concrete tower? What indeed? The perverse conviction of the development community and of the politicians in their pockets that Malta can sustain a steady stream of new developments in ODZs and beyond seems to know no end. The recent non-partisan front created with regards to the Zonqor space cannot be limited to that space. The Sliema monstrosity is proof that a charter on sustainable development and a clear plan for the future of planning in Malta needs to be pushed and marketed.

Which brings me to the controversy on the church school plans for Ghaxaq. The church is now a victim of the Zonqor madness. While Zonqor was evidently an excuse and a provocation by the government to allow its trojan horse of a crazy development that has nothing to do with education to be pushed (and many swallowed the bait), it would seem that the Ghaxaq project is the result of studies and the proper use of exceptions insofar as educational development is concerned. We are now however faced with the socialist scythe of equality inducing measures: the analysis is not legal or environmental, it’s simply No Zonqor, No Church Development. We’re throwing the tomatoes with the pineapples and the melons. It’s crazy.

Using the letter of the law to smash its spirit. That is just the phrase I was looking for. We are witnessing it every day and the rapid decline and fall is preposterously horrifying for those who care to worry about the future of our nation.

Categories
Environment

Movements and the art of ODZ maintenance

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Chapman Taylor know something that most of us don’t. Or so it seems. It’s par for the course for Muscat’s government – surprises are sprung, agreements are made without consultation and, of course, electoral promises are broken without losing the beat. Chapman Taylor of Milan jumped the gun by “mistakenly” announcing that they had been awarded the project for what is termed “the development of an unused quarry”. The announcement came complete with pictures of a yacht marina and tourist village, a stones throw away from the idyllic bay of Hondoq.

The architect’s firm has admitted that this was a mistake since the adjudication process is still ongoing. Sadly for Muscat and his band of transparent and meritocratic men this is just another in a long series of projects (we’re still debating the Jordanian Builder’s Toy University in an ODZ) that are sprung on the public as a fait accompli. This one is environmentally and politically sensitive since once again the government would be playing with the shoreline as well as giving the go ahead for a project that would have a huge impact on the environment both on and off shore.

Which brings me to the discourse regarding movements. That this project will be as vociferously opposed as the Zonqor Visa-Machine for Upmarket Arab Sons and Daughters should be taken as read. That the newly created Front Harsien ODZ will take up this baton should be inevitable. The real question is on the long-term destiny of this kind of movement. I have already hinted that the party in opposition should not be shunned or pushed away because of its history with the environment – rather – it should be obliged to commit and tie its destiny to a holistic plan that is based on preservation and enhancement of our environmental heritage.

Does that transform the environment and ODZ into a political football? It has to. It is useless bringing up old grudges and pointing fingers at the PLPN system and claiming that this has to be a political-party-neutral effort because that only means relegating this issue to a knee-jerk/NIMBY kind of issue that has to work in fits and starts every time the party in power decides to steam roller over any form of environmental obligation.

The PN is at a point of transformation. It is at the point of defining its long and short term goals. This is the time for the “movements” to strike and force the PN to become a stronger, more effective and more decisive force than what the AD has ever been. The agenda for environmental protection must become the PN’s because that is the only way it can become part of the system rather than constantly in battle with it.

Muscat’s “movement” has been uncovered as a travesty. His courting of the environmental lobby has been proven time and again to be just words for short term game. There is no space for a real environmental agenda in his plans because it jars deeply with his dealings with constructors and vendors. He has chosen to keep the Sandro Chetcuti and Jordanian investor cards closer to his chest. He still believes that his job-creation words can charm the population into submission and acceptance of hideous plans that threaten our eco-system. If not that than the false battle against the elite in mimic of his hero Mintoff should do the trick.

Movements have a temporary and transitional role in our system. They are intended to influence the parties that matter in a system that is sadly and insufferably a bi-partisan tragedy. For too long have we tried to be convinced that the third way could be an option by driving a wedge in between the parties of the status quo. While in theory it should and would work, in practice it faces a system that was scripted and written for the preservation of the bipartisan alternation notwithstanding the dangers of a race to mediocrity. The weakest link in the system is actually the citizen who reinforces it with his vote.

It is only in moments like these – of crisis (in a philosophical sense) – that movements can play a role. By taking control of the PN agenda on environment and forging it in a lasting way that can guarantee the creation of positive policies for present and future generations much more can be achieved. Obviously this does not mean relinquishing the role of opposing current projects.

The battle to preserve Zonqor and Hondoq and their surroundings has only just begun.

Podemos.

 

Categories
Environment Politics

The Lie of the Movements

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When Joseph Muscat came up with the idea of backing a Jordanian builder’s plan to try his luck with owning a university, and when Joseph Muscat agreed to place this trial run uni on public ODZ land, he had no idea of the movement that would build up against him. This is the generally accepted storyline as it is evolving. Muscat makes a pact with the devil and sells off another piece of prime national land and suddenly everybody who counts is up in arms united against the tyrant’s move.

The question of whether or not the university is a legitimate educational enterprise or whether it is really a trojan horse for well-heeled arab youngsters to get their temporary visa into Schengen as a bonus add-on to a pay-as-you-go diploma has been mostly set aside. The political debate as it is has almost entirely swallowed the spin that this is a bonus for education in Malta (or as Varist infamously put it  – breaking of the university monopoly in Malta).  Some academics have started to rumble about the lack of transparency in this regard but most of the rumbling is and has been about the violation of Malta’s ODZ – outside development zone – rules.

Muscat helped push the disdain factor to new limits with his “by hook or by crook” approach early on. This managed to unite a number of different lobby groups under one banner – the newly formed Front Harsien ODZ (Front for the Protection of the ODZs). It’s a simple banner to fall under – if you have Malta’s ODZ and their preservation at heart then you can join. The founders were quick to point out the apolitical nature of the front – in the farcical Maltese style of apolitical that still defies real definition.

The actual political milieu had also begun to have its say. While the Front could boast of the support of various NGOs and of course of Alternattiva Demokratika – ever consistent in its environmental battles – its ranks were soon boosted by the rationally vociferous Marlene Farrugia and her husband Godfrey who is also the whip of the Labour party. We also had the admirable Desiree Attard – a Labour councillor in Marsascala who joined the ranks of those opposing the rape of ODZ land.

Was this a Movement in the making? Is this the opportunity to plant a Podemos or 5stelle? Probably not. The only way the Front Harsien ODZ could rally sufficient support is by staying out of actual politics. Popular movements in Malta – real ones with political stands not faux movements glued together with the sole aim of achieving power – can only be created around issue-specific moments. They can be partially successful if they prove not to have a long term ambition of becoming a party (as in contest an election).

Front Harsien is an important reaction of civic society. It is destined though to remain an issue specific blip on the political spectrum. Which brings me to the party in opposition. A number of backers of the Front Harsien have been quick to shoot down any attempt by the PN to make the issue its own. Their reasoning is that the PN track record on development does not allow it to take a stand now.

In many ways this antagonistic approach is flawed. Given that the Front Harsien has no aspiration to become a political movement, the second best thing it could do is to engage directly with the parties in their respective roles. Right now engagement with the party in government means opposing its plans to ruin ODZ whenever they crop up. Engaging with the PN intelligently would not mean acting as though it is the same antagonist as when it was in government. This is the time to get clear, precise commitments from the PN about how it would act when it inevitably – one day – is in control of the reigns of power.

Getting the PN to clearly commit to protect ODZ’s in the future is as much of a victory for the Front Harsien as would be preventing the PL government from ruining the ODZ at the moment. Exponents such as AD’s Cassola and Cacopardo would do better than rant about PN ‘hypocrisy’ because in realpolitik terms when it comes to safeguarding the ODZ it gets them nowhere.

Get the PN to commit and commit clearly and half your work is done. The other half is more difficult. Get Muscat and his jordanian partners to keep their hands off the ODZs… then the work of the movement is done. And the lie of the land will have taken a good turn.

Categories
Environment Politics

Rape, Lies and a Jordanian Constructor’s University

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Did I say gullible? More extraordinary news today as the Sadeen University (I’m not falling for the American crap) saga continues to unfold.  The story in the Times under the headline “University plan viable only with the use of ODZ land” is particularly intriguing (read the text of the story below). We are told that a government source has confirmed that the American University project is only viable if ODZ land is used because the land there is cheaper “and that is the price government is prepared to pay”. Government? Pay? Really?  Here’s just a few of our observations:

1. The mask has fallen quickly on this one. Much quicker than it ever did on the Citizenship Scheme and Henley and Partners. The words “American” and “University” failed to constitute sufficient snake oil to lubricate the painful reality of the truth: Public land that is not designated for development would be raped and the little private owners involved will make a killing thanks to Labour’s sale. Education has nothing to do with this. This is pure and simple speculation of the ugliest kind. Muscat is the construction industry’s messiah and it does not cost his pocket one thing. It’s the public and its land that will pay the price.

2. Investment? What investment? Since when does attracting foreign investment involve “the price government is prepared to pay”? Not only are we allowing foreign constructors to rape our nation’s limited surface resources but we are paying for it. Isn’t that brilliant? Taghna Lkoll my backside.

3. “The land will be given to the investors, Sadeen Group, through a concession on temporary emphyteusis authorised by a parliamentary resolution. It is not yet known how long the period will be. The contract for the land will stipulate that it can only be used for educational purposes.” Sweet. For an undefined period  we are giving away yet another chunk (90k square metres) of our land. The inclusion of a derisory clause limiting the use to educational purposes can only be seen in the light of the recent arse-minded decisions in the domain of planning including Michael Falzon’s “this is not an amnesty”. So much for a guarantee.

4. The university and american bit might be too complicated for mere mortals to be able to assess the extent of the travesty. Let’s imagine a parallel scenario. Muscat announces that the Sejfeddin Group is willing to invest a billion euros to build a leisure resort on Comino. Present at the launching are two senior managers from Disney World Paris who, it turns out, were paid a handsome fee by Sejfeddin Group to provide designs for the new resort based on their experience. Announcing the Disneyish Resort of Malta, Muscat informs the general public that an area amounting to three quarters of Comino including the Blue Lagoon and St. Mary’s Bay will be handed over to the Sejfeddin Group under temporary emphyteusis. There are no real alternatives to this since Comino was the only plan that would make the Disney Resort viable. All that is missing from this fictitious example is the sale of a few patches of land owned by persons linked to Labour. Spiffing isn’t it? Then we could truly say that this is a pajjiz tal-Mickey Mouse.

from University plan viable only with use of ODZ land (The Times of Malta):

The new American university in the south has to be built on land in an outside development zone or the project will not be financially viable, a government source has confirmed. Any ODZ land being used for agriculture has a much lower value than land allocated for development, and that is the price government is prepared to pay. The land required is 90,000 square metres – the site identified is mostly public land, which also brings down the cost.

But 10,000 square metres of the total consists of seven areas of privately owned land, which lies at the centre. The owners include people renowned during the era of controversial former public works Labour minister Lorry Sant: Michael Axisa (il-Lay Lay), Piju Camilleri, Joe Chetcuti, Norman Clews, Joe Formosa, Joe Camilleri, Paul Abela and Manuel Farrugia.

The land will be given to the investors, Sadeen Group, through a concession on temporary emphyteusis authorised by a parliamentary resolution. It is not yet known how long the period will be. The contract for the land will stipulate that it can only be used for educational purposes. It is understood the government has made an offer to each landowner within the assigned area and is awaiting an answer from the individuals involved. The negotiations are not easy, but the government always has the option to expropriate land.

Categories
Mediawatch Politics

American Lie

laba.ws_USA_Independence_Day

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Gullible. That is the only word I can find that describes the citizens of this nation. The question really is whether the immediate entourage surrounding Prime Minister Muscat are also equally prone to swallow his tales hook, line and sinker or whether they are in on the scam. The sparkle in their eyes when they declaim the latest “achievement” of Optimist Malta seems to favour the former theory of a bunch of gullible politicians. There is no hope other than to patiently wait for the travails of time to work their magic and uncover the cobweb of deceit that is being spun as we speak.

What’s the latest problem? Well. As soon as I heard of the agreement to set up an “American” University in Malta I smelt a fish. The general public’s reaction was thrown off track by the question of siting since the area earmarked for this new institution of partaking of tertiary knowledge was in an ODZ. So the chickens got cacking about the horror of the siting without really asking the most pertinent question of all: What the flying copulation is an American University? The heirs of socialist Malta and “jew b’xejn jew xejn” (and no there is no great distance between this lot and that lot – after all wasn’t Varist signing the agreement?) were proudly parading an agreement for a private fee-paying University to be built by foreign speculators on land not previously earmarked for development (far from it) and slapped with the label of “American” to boot. Mintoff is not just turning in his grave, he is spinning faster than Kurt Farrugia ever managed in a lifetime.

Instead of losing our heads on the ODZ development issue – which is a major distraction that would somehow still turn out to be the answer to the why of all this – our first question should have been “What do you mean American?”. This is not some internationally acknowledged guarantee of educational quality. This is not Oxford, Cambridge, MIT or College of Europe opening a campus in Malta. It turns out, thanks to the work of Antoine Vella, that the much vaunted DePaul University only lent a guiding hand to the prospectors and will have nothing to do with the University. The prospectors turn out to be Middle Eastern blokes who are in the business of construction – so much for education eh… So in the end a Trojan Horse of a University is what we have. The important thing is that they will build and ruin more of the South and its coastline.

As I said, the American bit made me sit up and check what was going on. In my student days I had met a couple of students during exchanges abroad who would come from Middle Eastern and Maghreb Universities. They would invariably state that they came from an American University – whether it was Cairo, Lebanon, Tel Aviv, there was always an “American” label somewhere. There is nothing really American about these universities. The label serves to sell the image as a Western style uni by giving an added agreeable ring to it. You can find “American” Universities in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and India. They tend to be reserved for higher paying classes of the local population – enclaves for figli di papà. We are not even sure whether the building contractors who will run the University that is to be built on virgin undeveloped land will be able to guarantee a proper quality of education.

Malta has already had its famous share of Made in America salesmanship. Nidal Binni has made a killing selling snail creams, Blue Pain Relief and all sorts of similar stuff (and has now ironically branched into Real Estate). For a very long time his catching marketing came under the title of “Made in America”. It’s the kind of quick marketing that appeals to a certain type of customer. Shall I say gullible?

I wish all the luck in the world to the hard working Nidal. It’s the snake oil merchants in government who cannot be trusted. Especially after this latest American Lie.