Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1002137
8 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 8 JULY 2018 NEWS Award of Honours and Decorations Malta pays public tribute to Maltese citizens who have distinguished themselves in different walks of life and whose contribution and achievement enrich the general well-being of their fellow countrymen. Any Maltese citizen, a group of persons or a voluntary organisation which is duly enrolled with the Commissioner in terms of the Voluntary Organisation Act may be nominated for the award of an honour on Republic Day. Nominations for 2018 will be received by the Nominations Committee on the prescribed Nomination Form, addressed to the Chairperson, Nominations Committee, Office of the Prime Minister, Auberge de Castille, Valletta VLT 2000, by not later than Wednesday, 8 th August 2018. Nomination forms may be collected from the Office of the Prime Minister, Auberge de Castille, Valletta or downloaded from the website of the Office of the Prime Minister www.opm.gov.mt. For further information, one may contact the Cabinet Office on 22001481. The persons nominated should neither be approached for details, nor informed about their nomination. JAMES DEBONO AFTER securing a permit for the controversial reconstruc- tion of a derelict hotel in the pristine Kalanka cove, hotelier Kenneth Abela, wants to erect a massive Nissen hut over his landholding of 23,000sq.m. His aim? An ambitious plan to reintroduce the Maltese goat, a breed which disap- peared from the island after the discovery of Brucellosis in goats' milk by Sir Temi Zammit, which prompted the British authorities to en- courage farmers to replace goats with cows. Abela, himself a registered farmer, has always insisted that his plans for the sur- rounding area at the Deli- mara Hotel are purely agri- cultural. Apart from the goat farm, the development on Ab- ela's estate foresees the de- velopment of a coop for the Maltese black chicken, an indigenous species reared for centuries in backyards, which survives up to this day. The British-era Nissen hut that will host his goat farm was itself previously located in the Tal-Handaq school. "In this way, a no-go area previously frequented by hunters and trappers will be dedicated for a useful and in- novative project," Abela tells MaltaToday in defence of his project, which is opposed by environmentalists and con- servationists. Abela insisted he has tried to keep the developable foot- print as low as possible while ensuring that his business venture remains "feasible and sustainable". The Planning Authority has already approved three other applications presented by Abela in the same area. The first was to sanction a number of rural structures previously used by bird trap- pers. A few months later the PA approved another ap- plication to "consolidate" a series of old structures into a brand new agricultural store. Greenhouses on some 735sq.m of land were later approved, but against the ad- vice of the Environment and Resources Authority which objected to the "piecemeal approach" to development in an area that is scheduled for its landscape value. 41 trees will be grown to minimise the visual impact of this de- velopment. Goats from Sicily Abela explains that the key to his project to reintroduce the Maltese goat is the sur- vival of this breed in Sicily. Before the breed disappeared from Malta it was common for farmers from other coun- tries such as Sardinia and Sicily to come and buy goats from Maltese farmers. Abela traced the Maltese goats in Sicily by referring to the "libro geneologico caprino" – a genealogical book listing goat breeds in Italy and where these are bred. This led Abela to estab- lish contact with an organic farm in the vicinity of San Cataldo owned by Luca Cam- marata. The idea is to import the Maltese goat directly to Malta from this farm. 50 to 100 goats will be bred in a purposely-built farm in Delimara. The herd will eventually be used to produce milk products made from the goats' milk, on the same lines as those which are already being successfully produced and marketed in Caltanis- setta, where the goat's milk is used to produce organic yoghurts, and a vast selection of typical cheeses made from Maltese goats' milk. "We believe that by mar- keting these highly artisanal products, we will indirectly create a demand for rear- ing the Maltese goat, which eventually will lead to the final phase of the project, that of breeding extra goats to supply local farmers who show interest in rearing this breed," Abela told MaltaTo- day. Kalanka hotelier wants to bring back Maltese goat JAMES DEBONO MILLIONS of litres of water were saved in 2017 thanks to over 2,000 let- ters sent across Malta and Gozo warning customers of possible leakages in their households. The Water Services Cor- poration's engineers and software developers used in-house tools to remotely monitor and flag abnormal levels of consumption. As a result, the WSC now sends letters to customers with leaks of over 20 li- tres an hour for two weeks straight. Assuming an average leak of 30 litres an hour, the amount of water lost to leaks amounts to 21,600,000 litres – the equivalent of over 10 million, two-litre bottles of mineral water. Not all residents take prompt action, but ac- cording to a spokesperson for the WSC, "it is reason- able to assume that owners would be keen to quickly repair leaks that are literally resulting in their money go- ing down the drain." A second notice is sent to households who fail to take action. According to the WSC's annual report, in 2017 "mil- lions of litres of water were saved from being wasted by going unnoticed by custom- ers, using this initiative." 2017 also saw over 2,500 home visits related to high consumption or water infil- tration from neighbouring premises. In 2017, 57% of all water produced from the WSC was derived from desalina- tion. The energy required to power up the plants was slightly lower than the previous year, down from 4.85kWh per cubic metre, to 4.76kWh in 2017. On the other hand, groundwater accounts for 43% of Malta's drinking water, down from over 50% before 2000. The WSC is embarking on a "net zero impact" project to recharge aquifers and supply pol- ished sewage water to farm- ers. The WSC is also produc- ing 1MW a year through its Fiddien solar panel farm. Over 22 million litres of water leaks saved