Ralph Cassar, Attard.
GRTU president Paul Abela (Push On With Golf
Course, August 17) should ask himself who the people who think money
grows on trees are.
Maybe they are those who expect "corporate
welfare" and handouts from the state for their copycat, mediocre
projects. For these people planning laws are just pieces of paper to
ignore.
Maybe they are those who want an easy way out and
for whom being an entrepreneur means property speculation and who are
greedy enough to expect to be given public land for their real estate
project, with a golf course thrown in.
Mr Abela does not quote one figure to prove the
growth he expects to accrue from ruining more of our countryside. He
thinks that concrete jungles and golf courses are the solution to all
our problems! He goes on to state that golf courses embellish the
environment. I'm sorry, but this statement betrays how ignorant he is
of the environment.
Mr Abela wants to bulldoze over land that belongs
to us all, over a vast expanse of countryside. There are some people
who think money grows on trees but there are others who only measure
things in monetary terms. Such people are not weaklings, they are
arrogant, they do not respect anyone and anything and think that money
buys everything. From Mr Abela's tone it seems that he is one of these
people.
Protect our open spaces (2)
Mario Borg, Mosta.
GRTU president Paul Abela has decided what the
majority of Maltese people want. Obviously, what we want is that more
of our scant resource of public land and open space is handed over to
private enterprise so that only a few rich, cigar-toting people can
enjoy it.
We have seen this happen all around the coastline
- nowadays one can hardly go down to the beach without forking out
between Lm3 and Lm10 for the privilege we previously enjoyed for free.
This in spite of our laws protecting access to the foreshore.
Maltese developers seem to equate nature with
nothingness. They would be surprised how many travellers travel across
the world to try and get away from rampant development. Maybe we should
develop Riviera because there's only sand down there.
Ix-Xaghra l-Hamra is one of the few bits of
relatively unspoilt coastline and part of the intrinsic character of
our island. Covering it in turf would make it more reminiscent of Dover
than of Malta. The current development at Golden Sands is already
cumbersome and jarring. Besides, a golf course would obviously call for
subsequent development in the area.
Rather than blame the dearth of tourists on the
lack of golf courses, we should look at our competitiveness (my friends
were asked to pay ?360 per person for an Air Malta flight from London
when they can fly to most European destinations for about ?40), and the
general state of the island (a veritable building site).
I think a good example of what can be done to
enhance the island is the Valletta Waterfront, where we restored and
utilised an asset we already had. There is so much that can be done.
Please protect the open spaces. We don't have
many.
• Up • Elephants • The Myth • Garigue in Malta • Not Viable • Golf Logic • The Debate • Med Flora • Sacrifice • Who Pays? • Broken Promises • Building Starts • Suspicious • Wide Angle Alternatives • Good for the syndicate • Constitutional right to enjoyment of environment • Talking Point • Asking the right questions • Golfcourse Blues • A sign of things to come • Protect our open spaces •
