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2 maltatoday EXECUTIVE EDITOR Matthew Vella mvella@mediatoday.com.mt Letters to the Editor, MaltaToday, Vjal ir-Rihan, San Gwann SGN 9016 E-mail: dailynews@mediatoday.com.mt Letters must be concise, no pen names accepted, include full name and address maltatoday | SUNDAY • 18 APRIL 2021 Gozo's strong civic awakening Editorial IN recent weeks, the Gozo Regional Council and 17 Gozitan local councils – representing both sides of the political spectrum – met with Environment Min- ister Aaron Farrugia, and members of the Planning Authority, to air their legitimate concerns about over-development in Gozo. The strong and united stance of Gozitan mayors marks a very welcome change in an otherwise stag- nant political landscape. It shows that partisan dif- ferences can indeed be put aside, in the name of the common good. In so doing, those local councils have also success- fully channelled street-level anger into a legitimate demand for an institutional response. This gives people a much-needed sense of representation, in the face of powerful financial lobbies, which politi- cal parties find hard to confront. This phenomenon is not limited to Gozo, either. Over the past months we have seen other councils taking a pro-active role: for example, the Qormi council has put aside partisan rivalries and present- ed alternative plans to road projects by Infrastruc- ture Malta. It seems, then, that councillors from different par- ties find it easy to find common ground at local lev- el. This should serve as a lesson for political parties in parliament, who are unable to similarly unite in defence of the common good. One can only wonder how much better Malta's political system would be, if it were run in the same way as its local councils. In the specific case of Gozo, the mayors' united position also represents a civic awakening against a 'one-size-fits-all' model adopted in planning pol- icies. In particular, a recent re-interpretation of building-height restrictions has resulting in the sudden appearance of five-storey blocks almost everywhere, with no regard at all to the surround- ing environment. Apart from robbing our town and villages of their unique character, the endless construction also diminishes the quality of life (and peace of mind) of nearby residents. Another result of the same policy is that develop- ment projects – proposed by the same owner – are now being 'salami-sliced' into smaller applications, in a way which prevents the authorities from assess- ing their cumulative impact. Such applications are clearly presented in a way to circumvent a holistic assessment: not just on visual impact, but also on traffic and the surrounding infrastructure. The only way to address these legitimate concerns is to democratize the planning process, by giving greater representation to councils in the planning process. One of the positive changes introduced by this administration was, in fact, to give councils a rep- resentation on the planning board. This should also be extended to representation on planning com- missions: which take most decisions on smaller de- velopments, whose cumulative impact sometimes is even greater than that of major projects. A proper response to the Gozo mayors' plea, how- ever, would also require a change in the way plan- ning rules are implemented. The government often speaks about 'intelligent planning': but without the necessary 'intelligence', this risks becoming an empty buzzword. What needs to change most is the one-size-fits- all model itself, which has clearly failed us. In order to have intelligent planning, the height and zoning limitations found in the local plan should be seen as a minimum safeguard. For example: nobody should be allowed to build six storeys in an area where only five storeys are al- lowed; but there should be no automatic right to develop five-storey blocks in every nook and cran- ny, either. The recent case of a five-storey block proposed in the vicinity of the Ggantija temples is a case in point. Intelligent planning means recognising that each site poses different problems; and while five-storey development may be acceptable in more urbanized parts of Malta and Gozo, the same should not apply in more rural contexts. Moreover, what may be acceptable in one particu- lar area, is not necessarily acceptable in another part of the same locality. Meanwhile, another positive aspect of the joint stance of the Gozitan mayors is that it strengthens demands for greater regional representation. It is even worth exploring whether it makes more sense to substitute the Gozo ministry – often linked to patronage – with a regional council with clearly de- fined powers and responsibilities: possibly includ- ing raising funds, by imposing levies on property development. Nonetheless: while welcoming the stance of the Gozitan mayors on over-development, one cannot ignore the elephant in the room concerning Gozo: i.e., the proposed tunnel connecting the two island, which – if enacted – would only further exacerbate development pressures on Gozo. From this perspective, the united stance by Gozo's local councils should be seen only as a first step towards a greater goal: and that is the urgent need to change tack, once and for all, when it comes to planning and development policies. 17 April 2011 Cachia Caruana fires Brussels whistle-blower THE office of Malta's permanent representative to the EU, Richard Cachia Caruana, has been flagged by the Belgian ministry for employment over its irregular labour practices, denial of overtime and irregular salary payments to Bel- gian nationals. In correspondence exclusively seen by Mal- taToday, the director-general of the Belgian federal service of employment (FSE) has called on the Belgian kingdom's chief of protocol, Ambassador Peter Martin, to bring the Per- manent Representation in line with Belgian and EU law. "I ask you to alert this employer of the ne- cessity, imposed upon him by international conventions, of scrupulously following Belgian labour laws," FSE director Michel Aseglio tells Martin, after listing a series of irregular practices concerning a former Dar Malta em- ployee. The employee, a chauffeur at the rep- resentation, was fired on 4 March 2011after admitting to having spoken to Belgian news- paper Le Soir over the permanent representa- tion's irregular labour practices. Specifically, the representation paid the driver a gross salary of some €1,200, deducted all taxation and social security contributions; but then added an extra €250-€350 allowance to top up his net salary – not as an extra bene- fit, but to reach the salary level he was entitled to in his employment contracts. But the FSE told the Belgian chief of pro- tocol that the top-up was being paid "in cash and undeclared" to taxation authorities, as evi- denced by the chauffeur's annual tax return. Additionally, the chauffeur and other for- mer employees have told MaltaToday the smaller gross salaries have resulted in lower pension contributions, because it entitled them to smaller sickness and unemployment benefits (65% and 60% respectively of the gross). This fact alone has affected the living con- ditions of a former secretary who had been employed at the Maltese embassy to Belgium for 19 years. She claims she receives an €800 sickness pension today instead of an estimated €1,200 she could have received had she been paid according to the law. ... Quote of the Week "Today I am doing all I can to help my party, rather than fostering division. It is really not important whether you're the leader or the porter, but it's what you do to help others." Nationalist MP and former PN leader Adrian Delia on Reno Bugeja Jistaqsi MaltaToday 10 years ago