The Nationalist Party is demanding “full transparency” regarding the Labour Government’s sudden plan to change the Local Plans.

Earlier this month the Planning Authority proposed a partial review of the 2006 Gozo and Comino Local Plan, specifically addressing two areas in Ghajnsielem and Xewkija.

In Xewkija, the scope is to designate the area located between Triq it-Torri Gorgun and Triq il- Kav. Lorenzo Zammit Haber, as a “Rural Settlement.”

In Ghajnsielem, the PA said that the objective is to designate a specific site which recently accommodated the 14th edition of the live nativity event of Bethlehem as an open-air, formal recreational land use with ancillary structures.

In a statement on Saturday, the PN insisted that “it is unacceptable for the Government to continue hiding behind legal technicalities and using parliamentary procedures, while Government members ignore the Opposition and fail to respond to requests for these changes to be discussed at an early stage in the Permanent Committee of the House on the Environment, Climate Change, and Development Planning.”

The PN added that it “condemns and deplores this attitude of the Government, which is keeping people in the dark about what it intends to change in the Local Plans – including which areas will be affected – and depriving the Maltese and Gozitan people of information about matters impacting their quality of life.”

It argued that “Robert Abela is responsible for all this, as like his predecessor, he is leading a government that operates in secrecy, where the interests of a select few are prioritised over the interests of Maltese and Gozitan citizens.”

The PN claimed that the consultation announced by the Planning Authority, under the orders of the Cabinet, “is merely intended to justify the Government’s deceit and abuse.”

“This is clearly evident from the Government’s decision regarding illegal construction in ODZ (Outside Development Zone) in Xewkija, Gozo, where the Government is ordering a change to the Local Plan to make it possible for illegal buildings to be granted permission,” stated the PN.

The PN went on to say that “with this decision, the Labour Government once again confirms its intention to favour certain individuals while creating dangerous precedents at the expense of the environment and people’s quality of life.”

The Nationalist Party concluded by saying that it is “determined and will continue working to ensure that in our country we have authorities and institutions that genuinely operate autonomously and independently, and that take decisions which improve the quality of life for Maltese and Gozitan citizens.”

The statement was signed by Stanley Zammit Shadow Minister for Planning and Lands and Rebekah Borg Shadow Minister for the Environment.

Photo: PA of the area in Xewkija

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