We asked all six Gozitans MPs – three of them Labour ministers – whether Ħondoq ir-Rummien and its disused quarry site, should be declared as a ‘public domain’ site.
Well, that’s one way to get public feedback
It is easy to act like a tough guy with someone like Ronnie Gauci, but if the Planning Authority really wants to impress us, it should start throwing its weight around with the Portellis, the Ċaqnus and the Debonos of this island
Josanne Cassar
3 May 2021, 7:10am
If the Planning Authority ever wondered how the public feels about the way it functions (or fails to function), it got its answer this week.
When news spread that a man named Ronnie Gauci, who had taken it upon himself to clean up and decorate a previously litter-strewn spot in the area known as Top of the World in Għarghur, was being forced to demolish it or face a hefty €50k fine, jaws collectively dropped in disbelief. His crime? He had made a makeshift structure complete with plants without the necessary permit. Social media erupted in outrage.
Depending on which side of the political spectrum you place yourself, you may believe that the government has made great strides to improve governance or, indeed, you may believe it has been forced to do so by the international community and local activists. You may believe that the institutions are now working and that the excesses of cronyism, sleaze and corruption are now being tackled.
The bottom line is that there has been an improvement in governance.
Appointments of key figures like the attorney general, the commissioner of police and heads of other key institutions are now not made at the pleasure of the prime minister but have to go through a process, which, at least on paper, makes them independent.