Momentum condemns the Planning Authority’s canonisation of a criminal enterprise

Momentum expresses its profound outrage at the Planning Authority’s shocking decision to legalise Charles Polidano’s illegal zoo at Montekristo. This illegal development is occupying 45,000 square metres of protected ODZ land. This act sends one clear, toxic message to the nation: laws are for the little people. The rich, the connected, and the arrogant are free to do as they please.

Momentum Executive Committee Member, Katya Compagno said “To be crystal clear: the Montekristo site is the physical embodiment of lawlessness. For twenty years or so, Polidano treated our nation’s laws with utter contempt, shrugging off enforcement notices and daily fines while relentlessly expanding his unpermitted project. Now, in a stunning act of institutional surrender, the Planning Authority has laundered two decades of criminality into a legitimate enterprise for a fee.

This isn’t a planning decision. It is the institutionalization of a shakedown.

The Planning Board’s 9-2 vote was a calculated betrayal of public interest and environmental stewardship. We honour the integrity of NGO representative Romano Cassar and deputy chair Martin Camilleri for standing against this shameful charade. Their principled objections were swept aside by a board that prioritised a developer’s fantasy slideshow over the fundamental rule of law”

Momentum asks:

• What signal does this send to citizens who painstakingly follow the rules?
• Why are we rewarding flagrant illegality instead of prosecuting it to the fullest extent of the law?
• On what grounds should anyone ever respect a planning enforcement notice again?

The farcical descriptions of this illegal complex as a “green lung” or an “architectural masterpiece” are a sickening insult to every citizen. No amount of cheap neoclassicism or glossy marketing can whitewash the foundational crime: this entire project is illegal, built on protected land, and represents a direct assault on the common good.

This is not a failure of the system; it is the system working as intended by the powerful. It is the direct result of a parasitic culture of impunity, deliberately allowed to fester by a weak government and a Planning Authority that has proven it is no longer fit for purpose. The Labour Government’s silence is an admission of guilt. It has overseen the creation of a two-tier system of justice: one for the untouchables, and one for everyone else.

Katya Compagno concluded “Momentum refuses to be complicit in this silence.We demand immediate legislative action to permanently outlaw the sanctioning of illegal ODZ development. We demand that developers who break the law face strong consequences, not rewards.

We stand in solidarity with every citizen, every resident, and every organization that believes Malta is not for sale. We are at a crossroads: will we be a country of laws, or a country pandering to the powerful with deep pockets?

The time for polite disagreement is over. The fight for Malta’s future is now”.

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