Riforma fil-Kunsilli Lokali - Michael Briguglio

Il-Mument 10 ta' Dicembru 2017

Il-Kunsilli Lokali f’Malta ser jaghlqu 25 sena. Dawn qeghdin jaqdu l-htigijiet tal-lokalitajiet rispettivi taghhom?

Aspett ewlieni f’dan ir-rigward huwa l-finanzi. Il-Kunsilli Lokali ghandhom ghazliet limitati dwar kif jistghu jiggeneraw id-dhul. Id-dhul ewlieni jigi mill-Gvern centrali. Hemm ukoll possibilita’ ta’ dhul minn fondi ta’ l-Unjoni Ewropea, minn skemi specifici tal-Gvern u minn reklamar u certi permessi.

Politika ta’ riforma fil-kunsilli ghandha temfasizza li persentagg tad-dhul Governattiv mill-VAT, turizmu u oqsma ohra jigi maqsum mal-kunsilli.

Izda huwa car li hemm bzonn li l-Kunsilli jkollhom iktar opportunitajiet biex jiggeneraw id-dhul. Dan huwa necessarju biex jigi ffinanzjat xoghol bhal dak infrastrutturali u gbir ta’ l-iskart, kif ukoll inizjattivi bhal dawk  edukazzjonali, socjali u kulturali. Dawn ta’ l-ahhar huma importanti sabiex ikun hemm iktar sigurta’, integrazzjoni socjali u sens ta’ komunita’.

Idealment, l-agenda lokali ta’ Malta temfasizzja id-dicentralizazzjoni sabiex l-ebda gvern ma jkollu poter eccessiv. Permezz tas-sussidjarjeta’, decizzjonijiet li jistghu jittiehdu mill-kunsilli lokali m’ghandhom jittiehdu minn xi Ministru.

Din il-filosofija tista’ twassal sabiex il-kunsilli ikunu iktar sostenibbli. Per ezempju, art tal-gvern tista’ tigi devoluta lill-kunsilli. Parkeggi, bini pubbliku u siti storici jistghu jigu mmanigjati mill-kunsilli, u d-dhul iggenerat jista’ jintuza ghal htigijiet lokali. Biex naghti ezempju prattiku: il-car park pubbliku tax-Xatt ta’ Tas-Sliema huwa ikrah ferm u biex wiehed jipparkja jigi ‘mitlub’ ihallas. Mhux ahjar kieku dawn il-flus imorru ghand il-kunsill sabiex il-car park jigi msebbah u flus ohra jintuzaw ghall-bankini u htigijiet ohra?

Riforma fil-Kunsilli Lokali ghandha tizgura ukoll li l-Kunsilli ikollhom rwol ewlieni fit-tehid tad-decizzjoni ta’ l-Awtorita’ ta’ l-Ippjanar. Decizzjonijiet li jistghu jittiehdu mill-Kunsilli, bhal dawk ta’ enforzar dwar kostruzzjoni u ta’ street markings, ghandhom jittiehdu mill-Kunsilli, u mhux minn entitajiet centralizzati.

Importanti ukoll li skemi lokali bhal dawk ta’ parkegg ghar-residenti ma jkunux diskriminatorji. Ma jistax ikun li pajjzina jibqa karatterizzat minn lokalitajiet b’dawn l-iskemi u ohrajn minghajrom.

Qasam iehor ta’ importanza huwa dak tas-Social Impact Assessment. Jehtieg li l-Kunslli ikollhom fondi u access ghal servizzi professjonali bhal dawk ta’ socjologi, ekonomisti u esperti kulturali sabiex ikun hemm taghrif car dwar demografija, realtajiet socjali, komunitajiet u aspirazzjonijiet tar-residenti. Dan kollu jghin sabiex decizzjonijiet jittiehdu fuq bazi ta’ evidenza.

Il-Kunsilli ghandhom iservu ukoll ta’ centri ta’ servizzi u informazzjoni bhal tfittix ta’ impjieg, kura u pariri professjonali. U l-istess Kunslli ghandhom ikunu mharrga kif jahdmu ahjar ma’ l-istampa u s-socjeta’ civili.

Sfortunatament jidher li l-Gvern Laburista miexi lejn direzzjoni ohra. Iktar ma jghaddi zmien, iktar qed jahtaf poter taht idejh, b’iktar poter f’idejn il-Ministri.

Ezempju ta’ dan huwa l-enfurzar. Filwaqt li l-Kunsilli ta’ kuljum jaffacjaw abbuzi f’oqsma bhall-kostruzzjoni, skart, parkegg abbuziv u storbju, l-istess kunsilli qed jispiccaw jittalbu mal-Gvern biex ikun hemm enforzar.  Dan mhux sew.

Ezempju iehor hu l-kisi ta’ toroq. Hemm min qed jghid li l-programm ta’ seba’ snin tal-Gvern ser jikkonsiti minn kisi ta’ ftit pulzieri fit-toroq madwar Malta u Ghawdex. Jekk dan huwa l-kas, mhux ahjar kieku dan ix-xoghol isir mill-Kunsilli u jsir b’mod olistiku?

Iktar ma jkun hemm poter f’idejn il-Ministri, iktar ikun hemm tentazzjoni ghall-koruzzjoni . Tista’ tinqatel is-sens ta’ inizjattiva fil-kunsilli lokali.

Minn naha l-ohra, id-dicentralizzazjoni tista’ twassal ghal Kunsilli iktar incentivati biex ikunu kreattivi u innovattivi. Dan jista’ jinkoragixxi iktar sens civiku u iktar sens ta’ komunita’. B’hekk ikollna Kunsilli Lokali attivi u b’ruh socjali, u mhux Kunsilli Lokali tallaba tal-Ministri.

The Planning Authority has failed

A few days ago I was interviewed by Kevin Schembri Orland, The Malta Independent, about the Planning Authority, development and the property market. You can check it out here.

Impacts of Development

Article by Michael Briguglio suggesting better methods to analyse the impact of development in Malta. 

Read the article here or here. 

Assessing Social impacts

Times of Malta, 18 July 2016

The surge of proposals for high-rise development in this country provides yet another justification for the need for comprehensive social impact assessments when dealing with large development proposals.

Some social impact assessments have been carried out in Malta, but in my view the existing policymaking process tends to consider such studies as an irritant rather than a tool for holistic management and community participation.

In no way am I suggesting that authors of social impact assessments are incompetent or untrustworthy. Far from it. They are professionals doing their job. The problem lies in lack of political will, incomprehensive terms of reference and lack of critical assessment by authorities.

In a recent document, the International Association for Impact Assessment produced guidelines for social impact assessments which can be very useful in the Maltese context. Here it was suggested that an SIA is the process of analysing, monitoring and managing the intended and unintended social consequences, both positive and negative, of planned interventions and any social change processes invoked by those interventions.

The document explains that social impacts under assessment should include all those things relevant to people’s everyday life. This may include one’s culture, community, political context, environment, health, well-being, personal and property rights as well as fears and aspirations.

It is quite common that communities feel like strangers in their own home when development is imposed upon them without taking their social fabric into consideration. This may lead to a lack of trust towards developers, and increased anxiety on the unknowns related to possible changes.

Social impact assessments can help verify the consequences and impacts of development proposals on communities

From my experience as sociologist and local councillor, I have often encountered such realities. Many residents feel that developers want to make a quick buck with little social concern, and that authorities simply rubber-stamp developers’ wants. In turn, this leads to helplessness and lack of trust. At times, it also leads to protest, which sometimes has significant outcomes.

Social impact assessments can help verify the consequences and impacts of development proposals in relation to the communities involved. Hence, a basic starting point for such assessments should be the compilation of a community profile. A social impact assessment that does not understand the society in question is practically worthless.

This can help bring about genuine processes of engagement between communities, developers and authorities as well as identify and implement mitigation measures and compensation mechanisms. As things stand in Malta, various developers do quite the opposite, often causing huge inconvenience to residents and leaving a mess behind in surrounding infrastructure.

Social impact assessments should not be one-off exercises which are rubber-stamped by authorities without any sense of critical engagement. To the contrary, they should be ongoing processes which engage with various stakeholders and which report back so as to ensure effective policy processes. They should also use complementary research methods so as to ensure reliable and valid data.

Such ongoing processes should also take account of changes in the social context in question, such as cumulative impacts of other developments. For example, a social impact assessment that focuses on one development but ignores another development in the region is not realistic.

Some other factors which should be included in social impact assessments include the consideration of reasonable alternatives to development proposals as well as comparative analysis of similar development proposals and related good or bad practices.

Analytic indicators should be provided and the entire process should be subject to peer review by independent experts in the field. In simple terms, the basic foundations for systematic analysis should not be used just at university, but should also be applied in other spheres: such as the one of planning and development.

Indeed, it is very ironic that whilst Malta’s educational system is equipping students to become professionals in their respective fields, this ethic is often not reproduced in certain policymaking processes.

State authorities may choose to ignore the value of social impact assessments, but this will not erase the political dimension of development. Indeed, civil society and local communities are becoming increasingly aware of their rights and of their mobilising potential.

The current high-rise development proposals in Malta will show whether decision-making in Malta is really giving due consideration to social impacts.