MaltaToday previous editions

8 NEWS maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 01 SEPTEMBER 2021 JAMES DEBONO ON Sunday, Prime Minister Rob- ert Abela insisted that despite the issue of pre-qualification ques- tionnaire (PQQ) for bidders inter- ested in a concession for a yacht marina concession in Marsaskala bay, the project was still at a con- sultation stage and "nothing is cast in stone". But how can Abela equate a for- mal tendering procedure aimed at gathering feedback from busi- nessmen interested in the project, approved without public consul- tation with residents? A pre-qualification question- naire is not an open suggestion box but is a formal procedure meant to lead to a 'dialogue pro- cedure' with a candidate willing to take on the project. In this sense instead of a tender being issued after the setting up of clear rules limiting the development, the rules will be agreed upon with the bidders themselves. This ap- proach is a prime example of a project rather than community driven approach to development. In this case the PQQ is aimed at finding an investor to carry out detailed plans already outlined by Transport Malta in its call. In fact, marina plans included in the document published by TM show how the whole creek would be taken up by pontoons, effective- ly blocking off all the foreshore where people swim and fish. And while Abela is now adamant in saying that swimming zones should not be impacted by any marina development, the question remains: why were these areas in- cluded in the PQQ documents? And how far can one isolate these swimming zones from an all-en- veloping marina, which changes the very nature of the bay? In such a case one would expect public consultation with residents to be undertaken before any ten- der is issued. In this case the ten- der has the reverse effect, as it is aimed at conditioning the entire planning process, which has not even started. For why issue a ten- der for something which can later by turned down? In this sense, the consultation process is skewed, with businessmen interested in the marina project being given precedence over the local com- munity. Moreover Transport Malta would not have issued a tender in the absence of the central govern- ment's go-ahead. It is unconceiv- able to think that the Cabinet was unaware of TM's actions. Yet even the only critic from Labour's side, backbencher Jean Claude Micallef, has been careful in emphasising that the "project is not coming from the Labour Party or from the Prime Minister." Ian Borg's reluctant paternity It was Infrastructure Minister Ian Borg, whose portfolio includes Transport Malta, who came closest to accepting paternity of the proposed marina, citing the "enormous number of Maltese residents who are buying pleasure boats" as justification for new ma- rinas." Yet even Borg was hesitant on taking ownership of the pro- ject, by shifting the blame on the 2006 local plan, which identified Xemxija Bay and Marsaskala as two localities which can be used for the development of marinas. "Since these localities are in the local plan and have been approved by Parliament, the Transport au- thority decided it would be best to go for this option. Nonetheless, we are open to discussions," Borg said. And in a further indication of Cabinet complicity, instead of putting the brakes on his col- leagues, Environment Minister Aaron Farrugia came up with the most absurd defence of the yacht marina, comparing negative pub- lic reaction to a yacht marina for pleasure-boat owners in Marsas- kala to essential national infra- structure like the airport, freeport and waste plants. "I can point to the Malta freeport or the airport. Nobody in Gudja wants the airport there," he con- tinued, adding that a referendum among Gudja residents would surely result in a vote in favour of moving it elsewhere." But the strong public reaction which culminated in Moviment Graffitti's protest, attended by hundreds of residents against the proposed marina, seems to have caught the government wrong-footed. For the underhanded move by Transport Malta to issue a tender for a yacht marina in Marsaska- la on the eve of the Santa Marija feast, was probably intended to go un-noticed during the lull of the summer holidays. Blame it on the local plans In the face of opposition includ- ing that from the Labour-led local council, Robert Abela is giving the impression that no final decision has been taken while attributing the paternity of the project to local plans approved by the Nationalist administration in 2006. Yet as Abela himself recognised on Sunday, this does not oblige the present government to follow suit and issue a concession. For in reality the government is under no obligation to carry out all the pro- jects mentioned in the local plan. Wanted: a paternity test for a yacht marina Nobody, not even the Prime Minister, wants to take paternity of a proposed yacht marina at Marsaskala – a sign of embarrassment in the face of an unexpectedly strong public reaction. So why issue a call for bidder with detailed plans of pontoons taking over the entire bay, if no decision has yet been taken? asks James Debono

• Cover