Patient abusers rewarded

Abstract

The mass sanctioning scheme drawn up by the Malta Environment and Planning Authority understandably caused considerable angst the moment it bobbed up on the radar. In a country where flouting planning policies is intrinsic to the local ethos, many people, obviously except the perpetrators of blatant illegal development themselves, are disillusioned at the way those who systematically abuse the system get away with it due to the ineptitude or unwillingness of those whose duty it is to enforce planning policies and regulations. The full scale and repercussions of this latest scheme, once it is rubber-stamped by the Cabinet, does not seem to have fully sunk in as yet. For instance, if all the provisions of the scheme are applied, such as proof of ownership of the land in question and structures in Outside Development Zone areas being built before 1994, this would result in the green light being given to the entire illegal boathouse village blighting St Thomas Bay. The situation for the Armier hopefuls is somewhat more tor­tuous since they, at least so far, have no land ownership certificate in hand, but my guess is that a scheme tailor-made for their needs will eventually be drawn up. Patience is the name of the game. If the worst case scenario plays through and this mass sanctioning is eventually endorsed, how will the monies flowing in be used by Mepa? Since this amnesty has been triggered by the authority’s inadequate enforcement resources in the first place, it stands to reason that the priority recipient for such ‘blood money’ should be Mepa’s enforcement units themselves, which could do with greater manpower and more extensive facilities to be able to respond to illegalities more promptly and avoid backlogs – which are the driving force behind amnesties – from building up in the first place.