Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1034189
23 LETTERS & EDITORIAL maltatoday | SUNDAY • 30 SEPTEMBER 2018 Tenfold stench AS Thursday, 20 September 2018, re- cedes into the background, the anger and hostility unleashed by the Board Meeting and the subsequent decision against logic, reason and quality of life for much of the nation, festers on. The triumph of greed and gluttony of one developer, openly supported by the highest ministries down to the boards of our Planning Authority, has not yet left the awareness of civil society. On the contrary, the anger, indignation and frustration has taken on a personal level, directed squarely at the ten PA Board directors who voted in favour of this monstrous development. Their pathetic attempt to hide sheepishly behind a volley of contradicting poli- cies, calculations, extrapolations and prognostications, does not free them from their gross responsibility. The ten directors had the golden opportunity to pull the handbrake on one of the most dishonest land transfer deals which Malta has witnessed. But no, they huddled around each other and did otherwise, sealing a pact with the devil. Nothing and no one will sup- ply a valid excuse for their roles in this filthy game. In the marathon meeting at the Ham- run Lyceum, the eNGOs and public were regaled by lavishly complicated assessments, illogical opinion pieces and fancy calculations, in a gross at- tempt to persuade the average Maltese citizen that the monstrous and down- right trashy architectural attempt on land which rightfully belongs to the nation of Malta, can somehow be justi- fied. There was endless talk of green facades, which are as green as any piece of rendered blockwork currently avail- able in Malta. A Green Travel Plan, equally as useless as the paper it has been printed on, and which cannot be implemented given the missing infra- structure, zero incentives and absolute lack of political will for such concepts. The presentations were utterly mean- ingless, and the ten sat by, nodding heads like puppets, lacking the back- bone to call a spade a spade. The Traffic Impact Assessment was absurd from every angle. The appli- cant now admits that there are serious traffic issues around St George's Bay. Wow, what a surprise! Every driver faces these problems daily. So the ten simply sanctioned an even more ludi- crous solution to the problem: force the taxpayer to pocket the bill for a tunnel costing millions and millions of Euros, in order for their developer to become even richer on the strength of land cheated away from that very same taxpayer. Furthermore, if the Planning Authority and its henchmen can simply decide to bully the government into planning new roads to satisfy the needs of a developer, why do we even need Transport Malta? And then came the totally warped calculations of the extensive Environ- mental Impact Assessment. Shadow studies were presented, showing even the dimmest that Pembroke is well and truly stitched up once this demon has been approved. The long-distance views and photomontages shook everybody. But the smug ten sat idly on, in an air of complacency, happily watching the developer kick the whole of Pembroke in the groin, making no attempt to stop such a savage attack. The sight was well and truly stomach churning, sickening. Their conscience toward the com- munity no longer exists, if it ever did. The gratification they got for inflicting this on thousands of residents comes at a price as the ten directors have now become the poster boys and girls of all that is rotten in this little island state. Whatever you do in your future your name is mud and your reputations will forever be overshadowed by this deci- sion. Astrid Vella Sliem Mikiel Galea Letters & Clarifications