While Flimkien għal Ambjent Aħjar (FAA) welcomes many proposals made in the 2020 Budget, FAA maintains that seen holistically, the 2020 budget falls far short of ensuring an effective and sustainable environment for all.
Extending free school transport to all students and free bus passes to passengers over 75 is a small, welcome beginning towards a shift away from total reliance on private car ownership. Yet it falls far short of seriously motivating the Maltese public to use public transport instead of their private car. FAA maintains that a serious effort to strengthen public transport is sorely lacking in the 2020 budget.
Similarly, FAA welcomes the attempt to achieve cleaner air quality in Malta, however the proposal for electric car owners to pay a reduced electricity tariff when charging their vehicles at home is of limited value since in most towns and villages it is often impossible for car owners to charge their vehicles at home. FAA remains convinced that an ever-increasing road network will not lead Malta towards a greener and healthier society.
The budget proposes to extend schemes to buy bicycles, scooters and pedelecs, but such schemes can only be effective if a safe infrastructure for such transport is made a priority, and not merely an afterthought once vehicular transport needs have been satisfied.
While the extension of sea ferry networks to include St Paul’s Bay, Marsaskala, Marsaxlokk, St Julian’s and Mellieħa are a welcome alternative form of transport, FAA maintains that providing the best service to the public can only be ensured by opening up the monopoly held by the ferry operator that has been allowed to monopolise routes in Valletta’s harbours. While the increase in cruise ships stopping at the Grand Harbour was quoted with pride, no measures are being taken to curb the unhealthy air pollution belched by ships’ engines onto the residents of Malta’s highly-polluted Inner Harbour area.
The budget failed to include measures to ensure quality or aesthetics in new buildings, or to implement the EU requirement for energy-efficient buildings. Measures favouring the installation of solar panels are dampened by the fact that many panels are being rendered useless due to being overshadowed by tall buildings. And instead of reining in over-development that is causing so many problems, Government has again incentivized property purchases, sacrificing Malta’s long-term well-being in order to enrich developers.
A capped subsidy for appeals lodged by NGOs against planning decisions is welcomed, but again a small step in the right direction as FAA maintains that in a transparent, well-governed planning system such appeals should be the exception to the rule, as opposed to the current situation where NGOs regularly have to appeal against abusive planning permits.
FAA would welcome a strong drive toward enforcement and penalties against cowboy developers, so that NGOs do not need to battle against a Planning Authority that fails to ensure a better environment for the islands’ residents.
