Moviment Graffitti has highlighted that “just three days after people came out to protest in the streets of Valletta against the tables and chairs that are stifling our public spaces, we heard that an ambulance could not reach a person who needed medical assistance in St. George’s Square, Victoria, Gozo, because the access was again blocked by a jumble of tables, chairs and umbrellas.”

Residents of Victoria have said that St George’s Square is back to how is was, with tables, chairs and other ancillary furniture stretching out across the square, particularly during the busy hours of lunchtimes and evenings.

St George’s Square over the past weeks, is nothing like the photo shown below which was taken after enforcement was carried out by authorities in July.Graffitti argued that “this continues even after the public had come out to protest last June against the occupation of St. George’s Square by commercial establishments, and the authorities promised that action would be taken.”

“After the sporadic enforcement action, it seems clear that the situation has returned to how it was, to the detriment of people’s access and security,” Graffitti stated.

Moviment Graffitti stated that “it’s time to take a good look at one of the authorities responsible for all of this: the Lands Authority, which under the leadership of Robert Vella continued to go from bad to worse.”

This authority, also known as the Lands, Graffitti said, “plays an important role in the concessions for the occupation of public land by commercial establishments. The permits for the tables, chairs, umbrellas, and deckchairs that are stifling our spaces are all given the final blessing by the Lands.”

Graffitti continued by saying that “apart from the dubious granting of public land to be developed by private investors – the Lands is also allowing great abuses to be made of the few public spaces we have, including the – pavements, pedestrianised streets, and our squares.”

The organisation also argued that “this authority, which is known for the total lack of transparency with which it operates, is distributing our public spaces for free to establishments to occupy them with their structures, and without any form of enforcement against illegalities and abuses.”

Graffitti also said that “often, the tables and chairs are issued illegally, then the PA and the Lands become accomplices together to regularise these illegalities in a process known as – sanctioning.”

“One of the requests that we are putting together with the residents in the ‘Citizens’ Sidewalks’ campaign is in fact for there to be transparency in the way in which permits are given for the occupation of public land by this Authority. At present, not only does there not exist any serious enforcement, but one has no way of seeing the concession for the occupation of public land because the Lands operates in absolute secrecy.”

Moviment Graffitti concluded by saying that “we will continue to press for Lands to become more transparent so that the abuse of public land stops once and for all.”

Top photo: Moviment Graffitti and below George Cassar/Facebook

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