Supporting the enforcers

Abstract

I am not one to pull any punches when it comes to rapping MEPA, but some incidents warrant a change of tack. The recent deplorable events at Mdina Road, Zebbug, where MEPA enforcement officers and police were attacked by persons intent on preventing the demolition of their illegal structures, must be condemned by all those who have the environment at heart. Despite MEPA's heaving enforcement backlog, enforcement officers sometimes have to deal with unsavoury characters on their regular site visits. I add my voice to the chorus of admiration for all those involved in bringing about adherence to planning laws. No one should seek to gain political milage from such events. The authorities should not just pay lip service to MEPA's enforcement unit and to the police Administrative Law Enforcement (ALE) unit, by beefing such units adequately and proceed with long-overdue direct action (some cases date back to the early 1990s).