Winners and losers
Published on The Sunday Times of Malta on 15th April, 2007 by Mr Angelo Xerri, Qala.
Where will this country be if there were no objectors? Democracy will be at the lowest point; developers and the powerful will run the country, and the government.
Some objectors will object to anything under the sun, but most are for real and care about their fellow man and country, like the hundreds who are objecting and commenting on the Website http://soshondoq.blogspot. com. Do all these people object for no reason at all?
Mr John Ebejer (The Sunday Times, February 25) mentioned some places where there was strong objection to developers. For instance, look at the mess Fort Chambray today is in. This fort was the signature of Gozo. The tourists loved it the way it was then, just imagine if it were restored to its former glory, where almost a two-hour journey from the mainland would have been the first stop for tourists for a first impression of Gozo.
Mr Ebejer, maybe there were not enough objections from the people of Gozo. Perhaps stronger objection would have saved the fort. Where in the world do you see a historic place like Fort Chambray with an ugly development like that?
Another sickening instance where there were no objectors of any kind involves the two quarries in northeast Qala. These quarries destroyed the area by dumping by the sea, and up to recently nobody checked on them until the damage was done.
The refuse trucks that service these quarries are playing havoc by unbearable noise, diesel fumes, damaging buildings using the narrowest of streets from morning until night, choking this once tranquil village where many residents have died of cancer. Mr Ebejer, this is what happens if nobody objects.
Mr Ebejer (March 11) mentioned Hondoq Ir-Rummien, saying he would be the first to oppose any project that diminished the public enjoyment of the beach. What a way to slide something under the carpet. The quarry he mentioned is a few metres away from the beach, where a yacht marina for about 150 boats is going to be carved out of this quarry without any circulation of the water, creating a cesspool. That will be enough to kill the beach.
Has Mr Ebejer ever seen hundreds of people swimming in Mgarr Harbour at the Zewwieqa side like you see at the pristine little Hondoq Cove where hundreds flock every summer. No, because it is full of pollution floating on the surface of the water from the Mgarr marina.
Qala council ran a referendum on the project and 85 per cent of the residents voted against it. The Labour Party said it would respect the outcome of the referendum, and that is why One News was backing the objectors. Alternattiva Demokratika was the first to oppose the project before the referendum. The Labour Party's change of policy was never mentioned because the Prime Minister and the Minister for Gozo are in favour of the proposed Qala Creek project. The Qala referendum and the residents do not count, according to this government.
The Qala Creek project includes a five-star hotel, apartments, villas, time-share units, a yacht marina, and restaurants. The hotel may last a year or two and then it will join the Imgarr, Andar, and Atlantis hotels in the graveyard where it will be turned into apartments. When that happens the jobs that this project is to create will all be gone. The developers will be declared the winners.
It will very sad indeed if all the objectors lose the battle for Hondoq Ir-Rummien,, Ta' Cenc, Ramla Bay, Fort Chambray, and many others, and the developers are declared winners. Gozo will be the greyest of greys covered in concrete. Is this what the Maltese people who invested in Gozo for an occasional break were hoping for?
Where will this country be if there were no objectors? Democracy will be at the lowest point; developers and the powerful will run the country, and the government.
Some objectors will object to anything under the sun, but most are for real and care about their fellow man and country, like the hundreds who are objecting and commenting on the Website http://soshondoq.blogspot. com. Do all these people object for no reason at all?
Mr John Ebejer (The Sunday Times, February 25) mentioned some places where there was strong objection to developers. For instance, look at the mess Fort Chambray today is in. This fort was the signature of Gozo. The tourists loved it the way it was then, just imagine if it were restored to its former glory, where almost a two-hour journey from the mainland would have been the first stop for tourists for a first impression of Gozo.
Mr Ebejer, maybe there were not enough objections from the people of Gozo. Perhaps stronger objection would have saved the fort. Where in the world do you see a historic place like Fort Chambray with an ugly development like that?
Another sickening instance where there were no objectors of any kind involves the two quarries in northeast Qala. These quarries destroyed the area by dumping by the sea, and up to recently nobody checked on them until the damage was done.
The refuse trucks that service these quarries are playing havoc by unbearable noise, diesel fumes, damaging buildings using the narrowest of streets from morning until night, choking this once tranquil village where many residents have died of cancer. Mr Ebejer, this is what happens if nobody objects.
Mr Ebejer (March 11) mentioned Hondoq Ir-Rummien, saying he would be the first to oppose any project that diminished the public enjoyment of the beach. What a way to slide something under the carpet. The quarry he mentioned is a few metres away from the beach, where a yacht marina for about 150 boats is going to be carved out of this quarry without any circulation of the water, creating a cesspool. That will be enough to kill the beach.
Has Mr Ebejer ever seen hundreds of people swimming in Mgarr Harbour at the Zewwieqa side like you see at the pristine little Hondoq Cove where hundreds flock every summer. No, because it is full of pollution floating on the surface of the water from the Mgarr marina.
Qala council ran a referendum on the project and 85 per cent of the residents voted against it. The Labour Party said it would respect the outcome of the referendum, and that is why One News was backing the objectors. Alternattiva Demokratika was the first to oppose the project before the referendum. The Labour Party's change of policy was never mentioned because the Prime Minister and the Minister for Gozo are in favour of the proposed Qala Creek project. The Qala referendum and the residents do not count, according to this government.
The Qala Creek project includes a five-star hotel, apartments, villas, time-share units, a yacht marina, and restaurants. The hotel may last a year or two and then it will join the Imgarr, Andar, and Atlantis hotels in the graveyard where it will be turned into apartments. When that happens the jobs that this project is to create will all be gone. The developers will be declared the winners.
It will very sad indeed if all the objectors lose the battle for Hondoq Ir-Rummien,, Ta' Cenc, Ramla Bay, Fort Chambray, and many others, and the developers are declared winners. Gozo will be the greyest of greys covered in concrete. Is this what the Maltese people who invested in Gozo for an occasional break were hoping for?
posted by Hondoq at
4:59 PM
