Momentum stands with Paola mayor: councils must be free to defend their localities
Momentum expresses its full solidarity with Paola Mayor Jason Silvio, whose personal bank account was frozen by a developer after the council appealed a planning permit in the locality’s Urban Conservation Area.
A mayor who appeals a permit is doing his job. Local councils are the first line of defence for their communities, and the right of appeal is one of the few tools they have left. When a developer responds by going after a mayor’s personal finances, the message is that if you challenge us, you will pay for it personally.
This is intimidation and designed to make every councillor in Malta think twice before standing up for their residents.
We cannot let cowboy developers do as they please. For too long, a section of the construction industry has treated planning rules as obstacles and objectors as enemies. Malta’s urban conservation areas, its heritage and its residents’ quality of life are not theirs to trade away, and those who defend them must not be punished for it.
The government’s solidarity is welcome, but words on Facebook are not enough. Last year, the government moved quickly to protect public officers from civil litigation linked to their duties. Elected mayors and councillors deserve the same protection. At the same time, the government cannot claim to defend public participation in planning while pushing reforms that weaken the right of appeal.
Momentum calls for:
– legal protection for mayors and councillors against personal civil action and precautionary warrants arising from decisions taken in their official capacity, including planning appeals;
– strong domestic anti-SLAPP legislation, with real penalties for vexatious legal action intended to silence public participation.
“The Mayor of Paola did what every mayor should do, he defended his locality. If a developer can freeze a mayor’s bank account for that, no councillor in Malta is safe. Cowboy developers have had their way for too long” said Momentum leader Arnold Cassola.
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