Why we should all protest to save Zonqor

A lot is at stake in next Saturday’s national protest organized by Front Harsien ODZ, a non-partisan citizens’ movement against the development of a private university by the Sadeen construction group on land, which according to the local plan for Marsaskala should form part of a national park.

What is mostly at stake is the future of one of the many open spaces that contribute to the physical and mental health of the Maltese people and which we can still enjoy for free in a society where everything else has a price. 

If there is anything which is truly ‘taghna lkoll’, it is our countryside and our coast. Developing the countryside means more traffic, congestion and dust in those areas, which till now have served as lungs for our communities. And we have already lost too much of these open spaces. We simply cannot afford to lose more of our lungs. 

If Zonqor passes, expect our fat cats to become more assertive and hungrier than ever. There will be no way of stopping them.

But the issue also goes far beyond Zonqor. If the government backs off from plans to allow development in Zonqor, a strong message will be sent against all sorts of unsustainable developments being proposed outside the development zone. 

A strong crowd on Saturday can clip the government’s wings not just on Zonqor but over other plans to develop the ODZ and the Maltese coastline. These include plans to tweak the development zone with the excuse of redressing past injustices as declared by Parliamentary Secretary Michael Falzon in December.

We should not forget that plans for new local plan are also being finalized. Parliament will also be soon discussing the approval of the SPED (Strategic Plan for the Environment and Development). This plan consists set of ambiguous policy guidelines mainly aimed at legitimising the government’s pet projects: namely an airstrip in Gozo, land reclamation, tourism development in Comino and a yacht marina and cruise liner terminal in Gozo, which were included in this document.

It is a sad spectacle to see Environment Minister Leo Brincat pushing a ‘project driven’ policy document when he so rightly used to condemn the Nationalist government’s energy policy for being project driven. It is sad to see the government amending the SPED to allow development in rural areas like Zonqor if such development is deemed to constitute “sustainable development.” 

There is another important reason to protest on Saturday: if Zonqor is approved, Maltese developers will feel emboldened to propose further ODZ projects. When governments are supposed to lead by example, if Labour is willing to offer up cheap ODZ land to subsidise a foreign construction company to build a university that does not even yet exist, why shouldn’t government do the same for other kinds of developments?

The stakes are too high to stay to stay at home and let things take their natural course

Simple. If Zonqor passes, expect our fat cats to become more assertive and hungrier than ever. There will be no way of stopping them.

Ultimately the battle for the future of Zonqor Point is a battle for Malta’s future. It is about whether our society is willing to accept a development model that puts the profits of the few above the wellbeing of local communities.

It is about whether we want to live in a fair society, or in a society where crumbs are expected to trickle down from the tables of the global super-rich keen to buy cheap land.

It is about resisting a development model where the national interest is invoked to justify private profit.

It is about saying a big ‘no’ to the way our country, and our precious environment, is being sold cheaply on the global market.

It is a protest against bad governance. Selling land cheaply to subsidise a construction group is bad governance, especially when Sadeen was chosen directly without a call for expression of interest.

It is about the government’s failure to publish its agreement with Sadeen Group, showing a complete disregard for transparency. And the way the project is being projected as some redemption for the south just smacks of the worst form of neo-colonialism: it’s like some form of pro-development populism is being invoked to cover up the plunder of natural resources.

The stakes are too high to stay to stay at home and let things take their natural course. There are powerful interests at work already dictating the course of events and the only thing standing in their way is peoples’ power.

Irrespective of whether you vote PN, PL or AD, if you value the environment and social justice, you should join Front Harsien ODZ and various NGOs in sending a clear optimistic message that Malta should belong to us all and not to a few barons.

If you cringe at the prospect of Malta becoming a Dubai in the Mediterranean join us at 10 am near the new parliament on Saturday 20 June.