Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1478015
maltatoday | SUNDAY • 4 SEPTEMBER 2022 OPINION 10 Raphael Vassallo OPINION From 'more green spaces'… to 'war on green spaces' AND in just seven months, too! That's how long it took, for Prime Minister Robert Abela to not only 'forget' about the many promises he himself once made, to "increase urban public spaces" by "turning parking zones into green parks"… … but to deliver the clean op- posite instead: by transforming 'green parks' – including at least one in my own neighbourhood (more of which in a sec) – into 'zones for increased urban devel- opment': even in areas which are already among the most severely overdeveloped, and ultra-con- gested, on the entire planet… But still: to be fair, seven months is indeed a long time. So just in case you, too, have for- gotten all about those tantalis- ing, mesmerising, pre-electoral 'green promises' – and who can blame you? It's not a though we've given many reminders, recently – let's jog our collective memory a little, shall we? On February 21 of this year, Robert Abela addressed a press conference flanked by Miriam Dalli – who was Sustainability Minister, at the time – and Aar- on Farrugia, who was still minis- ter for the environment. Together, they unveiled a 'sev- en-year plan to increase green spaces in several localities'; and the Prime Minister, in particu- lar, told us that: "Cars are dominating spaces that people used to meet in, and children used to play around. Our government wants to give these spaces back to the people"; and "the Labour Party would embark on several urban green- ing projects, including a scheme to buy up private properties in urban spaces to be used as open areas – a process called urban 'green reclamation'." The same chorus-line would be taken up by Miriam Dalli less than a week later: when she wrote an article, in this news- paper, under the headline: 'The green space next door'. Here are a couple of choice quotes: "There was a time when children could safely play in the village square. With the amount of cars and parking which has taken over much of the space, this is hardly possible, if at all"; "It is abundantly clear that our citizens seek green spaces, even more so in the aftermath of the pandemic months. […] Creating green spaces in urban areas is es- sential for the wellbeing of res- idents, not only because green spaces absorb greenhouse gases and improve air quality, but also because they have a positive im- pact on our mental health…" And of course, all of that got it- self included in the Labour Par- ty's 2022 electoral manifesto… which specified (among count- less other 'green-tinted' pledg- es) that: "Residents who live in high-population, high-traffic zones deserve better. We want to transform our most urban- ised localities into 'Green Cit- ies', through the creation of open spaces, pocket parks, green walls, roof gardens, and perma- nent pedestrian zones, with the possibility of underground park- ing lots…", etc. etc. Right: let's stop our little 'trip down memory lane' here, for now. Because as I'm sure you can already see for yourselves… we may as well be reading a fantasy novel, at this stage. (And I have a very specific one in mind, too: Frank L. Baum's 'The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'… where cities DO actually appear 'green'; but only because they're viewed through 'green-tinted' lenses…) No sooner do you tear your gaze away from that enticing 'green vision', however… well, it's like that moment when Toto finally pulls the curtain away, to reveal the 'Humbug' at work be- hind the scenes. Because that's what It all boils down to, you know. Humbug. And like Toto, I can prove it, too… just by looking at this week's headlines. For now, I'll focus only on the one that represents the most glaring (and quite frankly, alarming) departure, from that February 2022 press conference: 'Transport Malta applies to build restaurant and offices on Ta' Xbiex seafront'. Now: I stand to be corrected, of course… but last I looked, 'Transport Malta' was (and still is, according to its own website) "a government body oversee- ing transport in Malta", which "[falls] under the authority of the Maltese Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure." And, well, what do you know? Today's Transport Minister just happens to be none other than Aaron Farrugia himself… that's right, folks! The same Aaron Farrugia who had flanked the Prime Minister, as 'Environ- ment Minister', during that same press conference seven months ago… But in any case: unlike so many other recent development appli- cations – which, despite all those 'green promises', still threaten to take even more 'open space' away from the people; and sim- ply hand it over to a consortium of private, commercial interests – this application was actually submitted BY THE GOVERN- MENT ITSELF. (And, just to add a little extra insult to injury: by the self-same minister who so recently assured us his government would be do- ing the very opposite… 'if given a fresh mandate in the coming general election'.…) Either way, however: the same Labour government that prom- ised us a 'green reclamation' of 'high-population, high traffic zones', is now proposing to [and here I quote]: "develop a section of open public space on the Ta' Xbiex promenade into offices and a restaurant. […] If approved by the PA, the plans will see al- most 600 square metres of space between Gżira Gardens and the yacht marina quay transformed into office space with meeting rooms, a shop, a restaurant and toilet." What these quotes do not tell us, however – presumably, be- cause it is common knowledge anyway – is that the Ta' Xbiex seafront (and especially, the ad- jacent public garden) happens to represent the last remaining morsel of 'open space', in what is effectively one of the most densely populated part of THE ENTIRE PLANET. That's not an exaggeration, by the way. This, for instance, is from the latest population and housing census (2021): "Look- ing at population growth at the regional level, the northern har- bour district [which includes Sliema, Gzira, Ta' Xbiex and Msida] registered the biggest increase since 2011, with the region's population growing by a massive 47%, equivalent to an additional 30,000 people…" In Sliema alone, we are told, Environmental NGO Flimkien Ghal Ambjent Ahjar said Transport Malta's project would be depriving the public of around 585sq.m or half a tumolo of public land