Hondoq ir-Rummien is for all the people of these islands

Published on the Malta Independent on Sunday 25th July, 2010 by Angelo Xerri.

Hondoq must be protected in its natural state without any development, at all costs. The government and Mepa must not act like thieves in the night and issue permits to developers to take it away from the residents of Qala, the people of Gozo and the many in Malta, and destroy the only pristine bay left on these islands forever.

The message to the authorities could not be any clearer, starting with the referendum held by Qala council eight years ago, which was approved by this government, where the result was 85 per cent against development. The latest was the hearing held by Mepa on 29 May, during which the Qala residents were more defiantly against the Qala Creek project at Hondoq ir-Rummien than they were eight years ago. The local NGOs are 99 per cent against it, and have warned the authorities that this project will cause environmental damage to the area, including the Blue Lagoon in Comino.

The EIA presented to Mepa by the developers is flawed and 99.9 per cent in favour of the developers, infringing and taking land in ODZ – one discrepancy after another. If the government ignores this referendum, then all future referendums held by this government will be in jeopardy and cannot be trusted. Thousands of objections in all the newspapers and on the Internet are proof that this project is not wanted.

It is not true that this project will create jobs. There may be a few construction jobs for a handful of people while it is being built but in other major projects in Gozo, there were more foreign workers employed than locals. When finished, it may create some housekeeping jobs, but Qala residents want real jobs. The Qala Creek project will double the amount of traffic going through the centre of Qala, which Mepa is ignoring. The village is already choking from the truck traffic that services the quarries, using the narrowest of roads with no health and safety control. By the way, are the Qala quarries the new Maghtab now? Are the authorities checking?

Activities at Hondoq Bay begin in early morning and continue until past midnight, with BBQs. It is a centre of activity for local families, and for people from Gozo and Malta there is nothing else like it. This project must be rejected outright by the government and Mepa must transfer this land to Qala Local Council to be developed as a national park, similar to eco-Gozo, of which all the people of this country will be proud.