Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1445886
6 NEWS maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 26 JANUARY 2022 NEWS KURT SANSONE ANTI-MAFIA laws proposed by the Opposition will give the state the strongest tools to combat or- ganised crime, Claudio Grech said questioning government's reluctance to embrace them. "The Bill put forward by the Nationalist Party… gives new and stronger tools to the State to combat organised crime and I cannot see how you can be against them in principle and still want to exit the greyl- ist," Grech said on Monday on TVM Newsplus' Xtra. The Nationalist MP was re- acting to the Prime Minister's comments on Sunday when he brandished the Opposition's omnibus Bill as an attempt to declare Malta a mafia state. One of the PN proposals is to create the new crime of as- sociation in mafia-like organi- sations. Another proposal is to introduce unexplained wealth orders and making it illegal for public officials to use person- al email and communication tools for work-related purpos- es. Grech said greylisting by the Financial Action Task Force has caused problems and the PN proposals are intended to help government get Malta off the list. But Finance Minister Clyde Caruana insisted that putting all the proposed laws in one basket was not the solution to exiting the greylist. Caruana said the Council of Europe's Moneyval review had found that Malta had the right laws in place. "What we are speaking of now at FATF level is implementation and enforcement of those laws to get off the greylist… today the FIAU has the power to investi- gate money flows so the tools are there." It is an open secret that the FATF wants to see prosecu- tions of money laundering and other financial crimes, includ- ing those that may be linked to people close to power. Air Malta restructuring On Air Malta, Caruana ex- pressed his wish that after the next election the airline would again be in his portfolio to be able to finalise the restructur- ing process. "If I am elected and if I am made minister, I wish to con- tinue having Air Malta in my portfolio because I wish to see the restructuring process that we started come to fruition," Caruana said. He insisted the national air- line must become commercial- ly viable and any routes that do not make financial sense should be axed. "Air Malta's major problem was that it lost loads of mon- ey on routes that were not fi- nancially viable. The first and only aim Air Malta should have is to be viable… if we want to expand tourism, we have to ex- plore how this is done," Caru- ana said. Grech called on government to discuss with the private sec- tor and the Opposition because making the airline commer- cially viable was a long-term project. "Government should explore an airline that is co-owned between the private sector, government and workers, who should be given the opportuni- ty to invest. It is only in this way that we can ensure the airline's decisions remain commercial PN's anti-mafia laws 'needed to get off greylist', minister prefers enforcement Claudio Grech amd Clyde Caruana on Xtra with Saviour Balzan Illegal Bahrija gate exposes Malta's enforcement sham JAMES DEBONO AN illegal gate blocking access to ramblers at Blata tal-Melħ in Baħrija for the past 10 months, still stands despite having been erected in a protected Natura 2000 site. Now a 'suspension' of the landowners' application to sanction the development is further prolonging the process, with the Planning Authority prevented from taking any de- cision until February. The gate, first flagged by the Malta Ramblers' Association in March 2021, blocks off ac- cess to an area that used to be popular with hikers intent on exploring the Natura 2000 site's rich cultural and natu- ral heritage. This scenic path- way blocked by the gate is the easiest way to reach the pop- ular coastal recreational spot known as Blata tal-Melħ, from Baħrija. But this enforcement farce is the direct result of a decision in 2015 to reintroduce the right for developers to sanction de- velopments in the ODZ. The planning reform of 2012, car- ried out in the twilight of the Gonzi administration, had re- moved this right after decades of abuse, but then was reintro- duced by a Labour government in its planning reforms in 2015. A spokesperson for the Plan- ning Authority explained that since a sanctioning applica- tion has been submitted on the Baħrija gate, no further en- forcement action can be taken at this stage. Only if the appli- cation is withdrawn or refused, will an enforcement notice be issued. Moreover, daily fines are only applicable when an en- forcement notice is issued. But Changes to planning laws in 2015 allow owners to delay enforcement by first building illegally, then applying to regularise illegalities, and then further delaying process by 'suspending' applications for months