Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1526110
10 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 1 SEPTEMBER 2024 NEWS JAMES DEBONO jdebono@mediatoday.com.mt Ministry for Health and Active Ageing Post of Senior Manager and Manager II (Project Management) The Director General (People Management), Ministry for Health and Active Ageing invites applications for the Post of Senior Manager and Manager II to perform Project Implementation duties within the Information Management Unit. Applications are to be submitted, for the attention of the People Management Division, Ministry for Health and Active Agening, 15, Palazzo Castellania, Merchants Street, Valletta VLT 1171, through the Online Government Recruitment Portal at the following address: https://recruitment.gov.mt. Applications are to include a Curriculum Vitae, completely up-to-date (which should include a list of qualifications held by applicant and the employment history). The closing date of the receipt of applications is 1.30 pm (Central European Time) of Friday, 6th September, 2024. Submissions which are received after closing date and time (i.e. late applications) are not allowed. The website address and e-mail address of the receiving Division are http://health.gov.mt and recruitment.health@gov.mt Dominican Order committed to build new Ghaxaq school but failure to meet target date has rendered application withdrawn THE Dominican Order's appli- cation for a new school in Għax- aq is considered withdrawn by the Planning Authority after requirements requested four years ago remained unsatisfied. The Dominicans want the Għaxaq college to be a spacious alternative to Valletta's St Al- bert College, which is over 70 years old and lacks sufficient space for modern amenities. A spokesperson for the PA confirmed that the application "has been rendered withdrawn" since requirements requested in the screening letter dated 20 July 2020 "remained un- satisfied". The screening letter's target date was 28 February 2024. The current status of the application on the PA web- site is marked as withdrawn, nonetheless, when contacted, Fr Aaron Zahra, the rector of St Albert College, was unaware of any problems with the PA. He said the Order is currently working on revised plans to ad- dress concerns raised by the En- vironment and Resources Au- thority. "We have the intention of proceeding with the applica- tion," Zahra told MaltaToday. The planned school is slated to be built on 28,000sq.m of agricultural land outside the development zone, in an ar- ea which was designated for school development in the 2006 local plans. Project plans show the school will cover an area equivalent to four full size football pitches but 7,725sq.m of agricultural land will be retained within the school grounds. The Environmental Impact Assessment presented last year says the project will have a ma- jor visual impact on Għaxaq, introducing urban development to a currently undeveloped site with a strong rural character and sense of openness when viewed from Dawret Ħal Għax- aq. Major negative impacts of the project include the change in the landscape when the new school is viewed from Triq il- Ħareb and Dawret Ħal-Għaxaq. A moderate to major impact is also identified in respect of the change to the long-distance view of Għaxaq from Delimara. The project will also have neg- ative consequences for ground water recharge, as it will result in the 'soil sealing' of a consid- erable area. According to the EIA, the land that will be lost is considered to be of low agricultural value; even if "there is the potential for the productivity of the land to be improved through improved irrigation". The EIA said that of the 58 protected trees found on the site of the new school, only 12 (21%) will be retained. Over- all the project will result in the loss of 85 trees, 46 of which are protected. The impact will be somewhat mitigated by the compensatory planting of 720 trees and the implementation of a landscaping scheme. Alien species will also be removed from the site. Plans for an even larger school to also accommodate a school run by the Daughters of the Sacred Heart over 72,000sq.m were withdrawn in 2019. The project came back to haunt the Church hierarchy during the Żonqor controversy, when former prime minister Jo- seph Muscat rebutted criticism by Archbishop Charles Scicluna on the proposed development of a private university on ODZ land at Żonqor Point, by refer- ring to the Għaxaq school plans. The Dominicans later filed a new scaled down application in 2020 although its status today remains a question mark. Fr Aaron Zahra (inset), the rector of St Albert College and an artist's impression of the proposed school in Ghaxaq