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6 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 27 MARCH 2022 OPINION 2 maltatoday EXECUTIVE EDITOR KURT SANSONE ksansone@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 • 16 AUGUST 2026 From Swieqi's soldiers to murder trial at Castille: The best in Europe, they say! Editorial MALTA experienced two disconnected episodes last week that tell the same sorry story of a coun- try that has lost its soul; a country that cares more about wealth than how it is achieved. A story of an abnormal country that boasts of being the best in the EU but with a lived reality that is becoming in- creasingly uncomfortable, immoral. The first episode was the decision to put soldiers out on the street to prevent young rowdy tourists from causing mayhem in residential neighbour- hoods in Swieqi. When soldiers are used to assist in civilian duties it is normally because there is a national emergency of sorts; a heightened terrorist alert; a natural disaster or uncontrolled organised crime groups causing widespread fear and instability. In Swieqi's case, the emergency boils down to a lack of government foresight and the political re- luctance to clamp down on short-let apartments. This leader does not blame Swieqi residents, who welcomed the move. Deputy Mayor Jordan Galea Pace was correct to express relief that final- ly someone in government listened to the plight of residents. It's unfair that after a day's work a person cannot go back home and spend a quiet night at home because drunk, unruly youngsters are causing mayhem in the neighbourhood. It has been pretty evident all along that the Po- lice Force does not have the human resources to provide effective patrolling in Swieqi and other localities neighbouring Paceville. Within this context, Home Affairs Minister Glenn Beding- field did what appeared to be the most logical move—use soldiers to fill the gaps. Bedingfield listened to residents and acted on their concerns. But somehow, we get the feeling that within government he is being left alone to deal with this problem. The Swieqi conundrum is not just about law en- forcement. It is so much more than that. Where is the tourism minister? Shouldn't he be issuing a legal notice to ensure that new rules gov- erning short-let apartments become applicable to all properties and not just newly-licensed ones? Shouldn't he be putting pressure on the Mal- ta Tourism Authority to shut down unlicensed properties? A simple exercise carried out by this newspaper with its limited resources found at least 100 unlicensed properties being advertised on just one online booking platform. Just think of how many more properties the MTA can identify if given the resources and which it then can fol- low up with inspections and enforcement. Shouldn't the minister impose a two-year mor- atorium on the issuance of new short-let licenses to give the authorities a chance to take stock of the situation? But the Swieqi conundrum doesn't stop with the tourism ministry. What about the planning minister? Shouldn't he be ensuring that planning policies identifying residential priority areas are tight enough to prevent the unscrupulous abuse of the loophole through the construction of apartment blocks for short-let purposes? And what about the environment ministry re- sponsible for waste collection? Shouldn't she be coming down like a hawk on the owners of short- let apartments, who keep putting out garbage bags on the pavement on the wrong days? But this is not a normal country. We have a gov- ernment so blinded by money that it refuses to even move an inch to address the root causes of abuse because this would mean stepping on the toes of those who have enriched themselves at the expense of communities. We may be the best in Europe on so many counts but just like Snow White's apple, this is a country rotten at its core. And nothing exemplifies this than the second episode that happened last week—the court's site visit at the Office of the Prime Minister in Cas- tille as part of Yorgen Fenech's murder trial. In what country does a murder trial require ju- rors to visit the seat of executive power? This is one of the ugliest legacies of the Labour Party's stay in power. The site visit told us nothing new but seeing a man accused of commissioning the murder of a journalist walking through the doors of Cas- tille epitomises the rot that set in post-2013. It exemplifies how the boundaries between polit- ical office, business and organised crime were purposely blurred and sold to the people as eco- nomic success; wealth generation. People's trust was betrayed time and time again. And yet, the words of Fr Rene Camilleri writing in the Times of Malta, ring loud and clear: "We are all guilty bystanders." "It is possible one man will be blamed at the end of the current trial. But the guilt is not simply and exclusively on one man. It is an entire system of government, an entire system of public office, our diffused mediocre way of doing politics and an entire nation that, at the end of the day, is to carry the burden," Camilleri wrote. The Yorgen Fenech trial will close a chapter when it's over but it will be a big mistake to be- lieve that everything stops there. It's the corrupt system that allows Swieqi residents to suffer until desperate measures are required to address the symptoms and not the cause. It's the corrupt sys- tem that sees a murder trial play out at Castille. It's the corrupt system that needs to change. Now is the time for people of goodwill and good standing to stand up and be counted. MaltaToday 10 years ago Labour whip fumes over industrial park plans, says Bilom 'raped Wied Incita' 17 August 2016 LABOUR Whip Godfrey Farrugia has spoken out against plans by construction developers Bilom to turn their quarry at Attard's Wied Incita into a new industrial park for small and medium enterprises. The controversial plans have riled neighbouring residents and environmental groups who fear the plans will turn the once pristine valley into a new industrial complex. "Wied Incita has been raped by quarry owners, rendering its habitat lifeless... the irregularities are well known," Farrugia, who is an MP for the constituency that includes neighbourhood Zeb- bug, said. "It seems that policy loopholes are being sought by misusing the recently approved solar farm pol- icy to develop an industrial park in an ODZ area... on an exclusive basis." The controversial plan was approved by the Malta Environment and Planning Authority in 2008, and involved the development of a 158,000 square metre track equivalent in area to 22 foot- ball fields, of land outside development zones in Wied Incita. Plans seen by MaltaToday envision the devel- opment of 235 garages occupying 55,000 square metres of land, a retail outlet to be built over 7,460 square metres while the family recreation park would occupy only 2,550 square metres. Land is also identified for recycling facilities. [...]