Undue pressure prior to Verdala decision

Abstract

When Dr Lawrence Gonzi became prime minister, he declared that the environment ranked high on his list of priorities. NGOs, like Nature Trust, were quick to praise the PM for his green pledges. Through all this, however, I had a nagging thought that most probably, like all political figures in this country, he was referring mainly to waste management when speaking of the environment but I still decided to give him a chance. To my dismay, Dr Gonzi appears to have been swayed in favour of new golf courses in Malta and Gozo. What is especially saddening, however, is the timing of Dr Gonzi's statements - the date of the Verdala golf course hearing (on Wednesday) is Malta's worst kept secret and Dr Gonzi's sortie is tantamount to undue pressure on the eve of such an important decision. While a member of Dr Gonzi's Cabinet, Dr Louis Galea, rightly asked for no undue prejudicing of the stipend revision system decision before talks were over, Dr Gonzi chose to spill the beans before any decision on the golf course has been taken. What happened to MEPA's supposed independence?