Mepa helping to plunder Malta
Published on The Times Of Malta on Wednesday 27th June, 2007 by Mary Rose Busuttil.
Mepa is certainly marshalling all possible heavy weaponry to defend its beleaguered position in respect of the scandalous approval of the commercial project at Ramla l-Hamra.
This time it is resorting to shameless propaganda by not only exploiting the One World slot in The Times (Ulysses Lodge Redevelopment - the Facts, June 16) but also by wasting taxpayer money on paid adverts on the internet. By these means Mepa is trying to confuse the public with technicalities in an attempt to inject some respectability into what can only be called environmental vandalism. It is about time Mepa realised that Maltese society is more mature and that this kind of twaddle does not work any more.
The public does not care a fig about obscure bureaucratic details pertaining to the impressively numbered (PA 5138/02) "outline application" for a project deceptively described as "Re-development of a fully licensed commercial complex".
If we "let the facts speak", as this pathetic Mepa advert announces, the bottom line is this: This development is fiercely opposed by the local residents, the local council, non-governmental organisations, an overwhelming section of the Maltese public at large as well as the Church and yet all are ignored.
It is also not an essential development and, most importantly, it lies outside the Development Zone.
Maybe the Mepa chairman and Minister for the Environment can explain to readers why the interests of the local residents and the Maltese public in general, not to mention those of our tourist industry are not taken into account when taking these decisions.
The people are opposed to this and other likely tourist developments such as that at Hondoq ir-Rummien and ta' Cenc because they are sickened at seeing their heritage being systematically destroyed before their eyes in the pursuit of profit. It has become a case of the protector becoming the plunderer.
Mepa is certainly marshalling all possible heavy weaponry to defend its beleaguered position in respect of the scandalous approval of the commercial project at Ramla l-Hamra.
This time it is resorting to shameless propaganda by not only exploiting the One World slot in The Times (Ulysses Lodge Redevelopment - the Facts, June 16) but also by wasting taxpayer money on paid adverts on the internet. By these means Mepa is trying to confuse the public with technicalities in an attempt to inject some respectability into what can only be called environmental vandalism. It is about time Mepa realised that Maltese society is more mature and that this kind of twaddle does not work any more.
The public does not care a fig about obscure bureaucratic details pertaining to the impressively numbered (PA 5138/02) "outline application" for a project deceptively described as "Re-development of a fully licensed commercial complex".
If we "let the facts speak", as this pathetic Mepa advert announces, the bottom line is this: This development is fiercely opposed by the local residents, the local council, non-governmental organisations, an overwhelming section of the Maltese public at large as well as the Church and yet all are ignored.
It is also not an essential development and, most importantly, it lies outside the Development Zone.
Maybe the Mepa chairman and Minister for the Environment can explain to readers why the interests of the local residents and the Maltese public in general, not to mention those of our tourist industry are not taken into account when taking these decisions.
The people are opposed to this and other likely tourist developments such as that at Hondoq ir-Rummien and ta' Cenc because they are sickened at seeing their heritage being systematically destroyed before their eyes in the pursuit of profit. It has become a case of the protector becoming the plunderer.
posted by Hondoq at
7:41 AM
