Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1409324
13 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 12 SEPTEMBER 2021 OPINION Greener Malta for my sons I took the leap into politics a few months before the European election where I stood as can- didate. Since then it was a race for votes, first personal ones, now for the Nationalist Party at a general election for which I do not run for a seat. The en- ergy and the stress you face on the day-to-day struggle to meet and reach people on different topics leaves little room to ask the golden question: Why am I doing this? The answer may be taken for granted by too many. Last week a few PN proposals prompted the question again, or rather the proposals and the reality they delve upon hinted at one good answer to that ques- tion. The proposals in question re- late to how we deal with our environment, in particular open green spaces, trees in urban setting, our farmland and our countryside. A PN press confer- ence led by my colleagues Rob- ert Cutajar, Janice Chetcuti and Gabriel Micallef went through a few ideas which clearly suggest a better future for Malta. Amongst other things, the PN is suggest- ing a vehicle whereby govern- ment can acquire tracts of land and turn them into public gar- dens and national parks. Coming to think of it, forcing a green encroachment into the concrete and brick zones is pos- sibly the most feasible way to fight back against what most of us regards as irreversible over- development. So many areas on the outskirts of our towns, from Swatar to Zejtun and Qa- la in Gozo are turning into very dense urban areas. What was a townhouse a few years back now made room for 12 new apart- ment units. Private investors are not really to blame in my view. Development policy allows this. Labour politicians who point their finger at the 2006 rational- isation by PN boosted the boom with the 2015 revisions encour- aging further development. It is indeed a case of the pot calling the kettle black. Any smart property owner has to exploit these policies and her/ his assets to the full. But how about public authority? Should not pubic authority strive to bal- ance out the increasing building density by planning more public green spaces in our sprawling village outskirts? I remember fondly my weekly childhood visits to Ġnien tal- Kmand in Żejtun. This 17th century garden was planned at the start of British rule as a gift to Żwieten in recognition of the villagers' participation in the re- volt against the French. It still has Auricaria and Jaracanda trees towering above San Gir- gor chapel. Back then, the au- thorities planned a few gardens for every town. Now we seem to have lost touch with that im- portant balance. How many new public gardens did we open in Swatar or Żokrija in Mosta for instance? None that I know of. To make matters worse, if a park is planned by Minister Ian Borg it turns out to be a concrete park with little room for greenery. The PN is proposing to revert this trend. Yes, development will continue, but we can fight back its effect on our urban fabric by making urban greener. To start with, how about trees on the pavement, across the board, as a general rule? Then imagine, you can launch a petition in your neighbourhood for government to buy a piece of land close by and turn that into a public gar- den. Now stop imagining, go to kunilbidla.com or get in touch with one of the PN candidates and suggest it. A new PN govern- ment can do that. Another interesting PN pro- posal relates to investing in our countryside. By investing I don't mean pouring concrete. I don't know about you, but I regular- ly get the feeling that while po- tential for countrywalks exists in Malta, a lot of the possible trails are blocked through un- clear property rights, hard to access paths and ill maintained passageways. What could be an hour long trail in, for instance, Baħrija valley or Dwejra would normally end up in a 15 minute walkabout due to neglected pas- sageways, sometimes turning in- to swampy roads (or impromptu clean ups) in rainy seasons. A simple yet effective PN pro- posal includes a commitment to map out a good number of promising hiking trails and strive to expand and maintain them including through volontary arrangements for passage-way through private land. Moreover, we also need to invest in a few facilities. It will not cost much to provide a few sitting bench- es and tables for hiking families allowing a brief rest while on a hike. Sounds elementary right? In Malta it is not. Most of our hiking trails are abandoned to the elements. In several loca- tions they are hardly monitored or inspected by any of the Gov- ernment authorities. In my home visits and meetings with people at their home or vil- lage piazzas, people regularly call for a stronger environmental di- mension to our decision-making. The PN is understanding this and being pro-active through its proposals not to mention our ef- fort to reach out to all pro-envi- ronment activists to join in and bring the change through Ber- nard Grech's outreach vehicle: PN Greens. The proposals men- tioned above are just a few of a series including a tree mapping exercise, the protection of his- toric houses in village cores and the PN's engagement to protect farmland as a guarantor of biodi- versity and food security. This brings me to the opening question on why I am in politics. I am in politics to strive for a bet- ter Malta nurturing us and mak- ing us a better people. A better version of ourselves if you like. That has to be a greener Malta for my sons. It is possibly a very egoistic reason. But I know I can be upfront about it because it is in your interest too. Wherever side you sit on in the political spec- trum you will recognise that our economy will no longer be able to feed us if we spoil the envi- ronment. If it's all about money, it bears reminding that a beauti- ful Malta is fundamental for our tourism sector, a true motor for our economy. If on the other hand you realise that a health- ier and greener environment is even more important than all the economic arguments, then stop sitting on the fence and join us making that a reality. The PN can be criticised for a hundred things. We have old fac- es who keep commanding thou- sands of votes. We try to keep the peace between devils and an- gels. We sell a glorious past but need to come to terms with past mistakes. That is all true. But having now taken a front role as a spokesperson with Ber- nard Grech I can tell that there is something in PN that harbours great promise for a better Malta. It is the boldness to face the is- sues with only the public good in mind. I can say that when I fol- low Bernard Grech. I can see that if elected Prime Minster, Bernard would lead with the public interest at heart and nothing else. You can't say that when you see how Abela's Labour orchestrates marinas, direct orders and shell companies to attract funds from alleged criminals. A better Malta necessitates PN, so join in and make PN stronger now, for Mal- ta's sake. Peter Agius Peter Agius is an MEP candidate and PN spokesperson kellimni@peteragius.eu