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7 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 21 APRIL 2021 NEWS ` The Ministry for Agriculture, Fisheries, Food and Animal Rights (MAFA) is inviting Expressions of Interest (EOI) for individuals who are competent to carry out project administration activities to support with the Establishment of a National Agriculture Research and Innovation Hub. The Expression of Interest document can be obtained and downloaded only from the website of the Ministry for Agriculture, Fisheries, Food and Animal Rights: http://www.agrikoltura.gov.mt Applications together with a CV and copies of relevant certificates in relation to this call for Expression of Interest are to be submitted in English or Maltese including reference number MAFA 34/2020/9 via email on agrihub.mafa@gov.mt or hand submitted/sent by post between 8:00 a.m. till 12:00 p.m. [noon] from the 9 th April till the 28 th April 2021 [excluding Saturday and Sunday] at Block D, Rural Affairs Department, Agriculture Research & Innovation Hub (AGRIHUB), Għammieri, Ingiered Road, Marsa, MRS 3300. LAURA CALLEJA MALTA will launch its first ev- er national campaign on climate change, in an awareness-raising exercise in which environment minister Aaron Farrugia called for a tangible change in lifestyles. Farrugia said the #ClimateOn campaign more than just a sim- ple educational campaign but a call for change towards more sus- tainable lifestyles. "There is a need for tangible change towards a better quality of life for everyone... Through this campaign, we need to create a more resilient society which is better prepared and capable of adapting to the irreversible conditions brought about by cli- mate change. This is being done through various seminars, work- shops, youth programmes, and public outreach," Farrugia said. The campaign will inform the public and disseminate necessary information on the impacts of climate change and the role of all individuals to this end. #ClimateOn will encourage ini- tiatives and projects that provide solutions leading to less pollu- tion, decrease threats to public health, and a lower impact on the environment and biodiversi- ty loss, and actions to strengthen the economic sector. Malta declared a climate change national emergency in 2019, de- spite little to suggest that the gov- ernment was indeed mounting a mitigation exercise for the emer- gency. "Climate change is considered to be one of the most serious global environmental crises of our time, where the world is ex- periencing diverse episodes of extreme weather, health risks, and economic repercussions," he said. "The government is improving its actions and increasing its am- bitions to mitigate these impacts. But the government cannot do this alone: citizens, businesses, industry, and all social groups have a part to play." Farrugia said the campaign would provide a platform to en- courage the necessary change in all sectors in order to ensure that we're all pulling the same rope. He said this could only hap- pen with the collective work for the transition towards clean and renewable energy and towards better consumer choices. "Col- laboration with various sectors, including the public and private sector, industrial sector, and ed- ucational sector are ongoing," he said. Climate emergency requires change in lifestyle Environment minister Aaron Farrugia MATTHEW AGIUS A man from Attard has been remanded in custody after al- legedly posing as a motorist in distress to defraud passers-by. 47-year-old Russel Bugeja was accused of defrauding a number of people between March and April this year. He was also ac- cused of making fraudulent gain. Bugeja was accused of recidi- vism. Inspector Godwin Scerri ar- raigned the man before magis- trate Audrey Demicoli yesterday morning, explaining that Bugeja and an accomplice had allegedly stopped vehicles on a rounda- bout, pretending to have suffered damage to his vehicle and con- vincing the drivers to lend them money for fictitious repairs be- fore disappearing. An arrest warrant was issued after the accused was recognised from CCTV footage. In court, Bugeja told the court that he was a boat captain. He pleaded not guilty. Bail was requested by Bugeja's legal aid lawyer, Yanika Bugeja. Scerri exhibited the man's state- ment and his refusal to consult with a lawyer. He objected to bail as there were several civilian wit- nesses yet to testify, and investi- gations into alleged accomplices in the crime were still ongoing. Bugeja reminded the court that the man was innocent until proven guilty. He had a problem and wanted to go to the Drug Dependency Unit of his own vo- lition for a month of rehab. One of the reasons bail was requested was to help him help himself, she said. "He knows that if he breach- es bail, there will be much worse consequences for him." His last conviction was 12 years ago, she said. But Inspector Scerri pointed to the man's criminal record, which showed him to have serious drug problems. "The reason behind the crime was to fuel their drug addiction," he said. The other ac- complice, a woman, who will be arrested and charged soon, lives at the same address as the ac- cused, although she is presently being treated at Mount Carmel Hospital, explained the inspector. The Court presided by magis- trate Audrey Demicoli, however, denied bail due to the possibility of the accused tampering with evidence but recommended to the prison authorities that the accused be given all the help he needed to combat his drug prob- lem. A Nigerian man has been charged with having committed offences of money laundering and handling stolen property whilst acting as the middleman in an online romance fraud. 29-year-old Godonu Dele a plasterer residing in Qawra was accused over the €21,500 scam which saw an elderly woman fleeced of her savings. He was arrested as a result of a separate investigation into a number of Nigerian individuals who were arraigned on Monday. The tall, dreadlocked accused protested silently with his law- yer as the charges of money laundering and handling stolen goods, were being read out on oath by inspector Sarah Zerafa. Dele pleaded not guilty in the case, which will potentially lead to an indictment before the criminal court. Lawyer Yanika Bugeja, ap- pointed legal aid counsel to the accused, declared that she would not be requesting bail today because there were nu- merous civilian witnesses yet to testify. She would be making the request at a later stage, she said. The court upheld the prosecu- tion's request for the freezing of all the man's assets – a standard measure in money laundering cases. The case will now be assigned according to law. Magistrate Audrey Demicoli presided. Inspectors Sarah Zerafa and Claire Borg prosecuted, togeth- er with prosecutors Sean Xerri de Caro and Karl Muscat from the Office of the Attorney Gen- eral. Alleged middleman in Nigerian romance fraud case pleads not guilty Fraudster who posed as motorist in distress, denied bail