Residents of St Julians, Mellieha sold off in backroom deals with developers

Il-Kollettiv condemns the Government’s move to amend the Local Plans in St Julians to accommodate the construction of Anton Camilleri’s Villa Rosa project, and calls for an investigation into former Lands Minister Silvio Schembri’s dealings with at least two MDA council members.

In a statement, secretary Wayne Flask accused Schembri of abusing his position as Lands Minister to sell off land to Anton Camilleri (tal-Franċiż) in St Julians, and Paul Attard (GAP, T&S Properties) in Mellieha, for a pittance on the original price. Both developers are members of the MDA’s executive council.

Camilleri acquired a public alley valued at €1m for a paltry €134,000 in a bid presented just two days before the 2022 general election. “While Camilleri’s project description stated that the entirety of his monstrous, outsized project will be self-funded, the developer needed a heavy discount to buy a piece of public land to provide access for it. He got it for a tenth of its original price, right before the election,” said Flask.

“Similarly in Mellieha Heights, MDA General Secretary Paul Attard acquired a plot of land worth €15m for just €380,000 yearly, while the emphytheusis can be reviewed after just fifteen years. This means that Attard and his partner can develop 109 apartments and 171 garages at the price of just one apartment per year.”

“We have no doubt that Silvio Schembri and Lands CEO Robert Vella have abused their positions to favour these two MDA council members, and we believe these deals and those involved in them should be investigated.”

Il-Kollettiv notes how Schembri made two backroom deals in electoral districts with which he has no relation, selling off residents and their quality of life to two major developers. “Schembri admitted he makes use of constituency offices owned by both developers in Luqa and Siggiewi. Villa Rosa and Mellieha Heights are the direct result of Schembri’s wheeling and dealing with developers.”

The group also questioned the Opposition’s silence on the matter. “Bernard Grech is repeating Labour’s lie that the local plans cannot be changed, as he has done with Zurrieq. The Opposition isn’t worthy of its name, far less of being in government, if daylight robbery of this sort goes by without a whimper. So much for the rule of law.” said Flask. “What is the PN discussing with developers behind closed doors?”

Il-Kollettiv had presented, together with numerous resident associations, thirteen points for planning reform back in July. “We remain committed to proposing and introducing reforms written by residents for residents, unlike the entirety of Parliament which has long abandoned its duty to represent the citizens of this country,” said Flask.

He noted how some government ministers said that the Villa Rosa decision was “taken collectively.”

“We will be stepping up our efforts with regard to the collective action in our towns and villages, and if we go down, we won’t go down without a fight,” said the secretary.