Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/463339
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 15 FEBRUARY 2015 3 News Hunters claim referendum can't kill right to derogate from EU ban GWU's office lease to ARMS valued at €309,750 MIRIAM DALLI ABROGATING a legal notice controlling spring hunting will not eliminate Malta's right to derogate from the EU's Birds Directive, hunt- ing federation CEO Lino Farrugia said. Speaking to MaltaToday following a media call at Il-Mizieb – a hunting area of some 200 tumoli managed by the hunters – Farrugia insisted that the referendum was spearheaded by "the losing political party" Alternat- tiva Demokratika, and therefore it was politicised. "No one has anything to lose with the exception of the hunters. Remov- ing the legal notice will not remove Malta's right to derogate from the EU directive," he said, when asked whether political parties should seek an alternative solution for hunters if the 'No' camp wins the referendum. "If the referendum is won by the No camp it would be a win for a po- litical party which is always losing. No one can say that the referendum was not politicised because it was AD that instigated it." Pressed to clarify whether he was suggesting that the referendum re- sult should be ignored or that future governments should allow spring hunting if the No vote went on to win, Farrugia reiterated that Malta had a right to derogate from EU laws as a member state. He said that the spring season was open for "only 20 mornings" and that spring hunting took place in "several other countries". Although FKNK has started col- lecting money for its campaign, the federation's representatives refused to confirm whether they would be taking part in the campaign and the referendum. One hunter said the FKNK was still "evaluating it possibilities" and that it was "our business to decide what to do while letting the other side com- mit mistakes." On his part, Farrugia told report- ers that the media would be duly in- formed once a decision is taken. Early yesterday morning, FKNK in- vited the media to oversee a cleans- ing operation at Il-Mizieb hunting reserve, where some 30 hunters gathered to clear debris, throw away garbage and restore small rubble walls. The hunters pointed out that the area had several times been van- dalised and benches installed had been stolen. Addressing reporters, hunter Romina Cuschieri said the land had been passed on to the hunters in 1986 to administer it, and the agree- ment was reconfirmed in 2009 and 2011. Last week, members of the SHout (spring hunting out) campaign went to the Mizieb reserve to reclaim the land for the public. "The agreement states that the land is reserved for hunters during the season and can be used by the public throughout the rest of the year. We take care of the land and we clean it up," she said. Cuschieri added that before the federation took over the reserve, the land was abandoned and in a disas- trous state. "The land is today enjoyed by all: people come here to jog and carry out re-enactments and is also used for filming. Truth is that BirdLife and its friends never accepted the fact that the FKNK was taking care of this land. "Unlike other areas, people don't have to pay to access il-Mizieb." Cuschieri added that in 2011, the Lands Department had informed BirdLife Malta that the land had been passed on to FKNK as a hunt- ing reserve. She also accused SHout campaign- ers of "intentionally" sabotaging a clay pigeon shooting competition on Sunday when they organised a news conference at il-Mizieb. "Spring hunting is open only for 20 mornings a year … the public can en- joy the area for the rest of the year. The abolitionists say that the land should be enjoyed by families: what about the hunters' families?" Arguing that it did welcome for- eigners to Malta, FKNK said it could never accept "a foreigner to tell us what to do". To show how open FKNK was to the Maltese public, the federation will be organising a Family Day, invit- ing the public to go and see il-Mizieb and at the same time taste dishes of their catches cooked by the hunters. In a reaction, the SHout campaign- ers insisted that the hunters had never been able to produce a formal agreement for their use of the land at Mizieb. They accused the hunters of occupying the land for their selfish pursuit of bird hunting. SHout said that other nature re- serves managed by NGOs such as BirdLife Malta, Gaia, Nature Trust and others, on behalf of the govern- ment, had the legal agreements in place and all followed a strict frame- work for the work carried out on the land. "As well as not showing a formal agreement for their use of the land at Mizieb, the hunters actively try to exclude the public from enjoying it by placing 'no entry' signs. They don't want people to see what re- ally goes on in there when the media aren't looking. "Voting 'no' on 11 April will trans- form this publicly owned land from a hunting hotspot in spring to a liv- ing woodland where birds can rest, nest and where the public can enjoy a peaceful walk or picnic at the best time of year." MIRIAM DALLI THE General Workers Union will be receiving €309,750 for leasing to ARMS Ltd part of its Valletta head- quarters, originally built on public land leased to it by the government and for which the union pays a year- ly €801 (Lm344) perpetual ground rent. The trade union was awarded the five-year ARMS contract following a request for proposals issued by the billing company in February last year. Three bids were submitted and the GWU's was chosen as the pre- ferred bid. The other two bids offered a space at €790 per square metre per an- num, VAT excluded, and a second one offered an office space at €150 daily, plus €150,000 in advance as premium. "ARMS published a request for proposals in all newspapers. ARMS based its decision on commercial grounds as the building in ques- tion was the cheapest offer. ARMS is paying €177 per square metre per annum to rent the 350 square metre office. The duration of the contract is five years," ARMS's marketing manager, Nikita Zammit Alamango – who happens to be a director on ARMS's shareholder, the Water Services Corporation – told Malta- Today. The award of the contract has however been flagged by the Oppo- sition, once it emerged that ARMS – a public entity – was not eligible to take over the space formerly hous- ing the GWU's insurance and tour- ism offices. Denouncing the "breach of a pub- lic lease contract", shadow justice minister Jason Azzopardi said he wants the Public Accounts Commit- tee to see whether the GWU's public lease was breached, what the Lands Department's advice on this issue was, who was responsible for the government's approval, and which public officials were involved in the matter. In 1957, the Maltese government granted the GWU a perpetual em- phyteusis on public land for the union to build its headquarters and to use the premises solely for trade union activities and its Union Press. In 1997 the union moved its press to Marsa, and requested an amend- ment to the contract to allow the utilization of the space left vacant. The amended deed allowed the GWU to transfer, assign or let to any company in which the GWU has over 51% of the shareholding ¬– which excludes government-owned ARMS. A curious condition to the deed was that 5% of annual profits after tax from any commercial un- dertaking carried out in the premis- es, were to be deposited into a fund managed by the General Workers Union "for the specific objectives of promoting consumer affairs for the benefits of the general public". The Valletta office is not the only property that the GWU is leasing to a public entity. Transport Malta last year awarded a contract to Paola Estates Ltd fol- lowing an open tender that attracted six bids. Paola Estates are a wholly-owned subsidiary of GWU Holdings Ltd, whose directors are union secretary- general Tony Zarb and president Victor Carachi. In 2007, the com- pany held some €2 million in assets. "Transport Malta is looking for- ward to moving to a more functional location, consolidating its functions of Land Transport and Roads Direc- torate which are currently scattered in different locations. The office space is that of circa of 3,376 square metres at an annual rent of €490,000 including VAT. This building will provide office space for around 250 people," Transport Malta CEO James Piscopo told MaltaToday. The move is planned for the com- ing summer. Piscopo confirmed that the five other bidders were FXB Qormi Ltd, Toncam Properties Ltd, Valletta Cruise Port Plc, Unitrade-Bezzina JV and KA Holdings. No appeals were lodged. Piscopo was however reluctant to divulge the names of the members of the evaluation committee. "The evaluation committee was composed in accordance with pro- curement regulations. In this case it was made of two senior managers, one manager, one lawyer and one secretary," he said. In 2010, the GWU company pur- chased 1,800 square metres of base- ment garage spaces for €302,818 at the A3 Towers, and the ground floor's showroom, cafeteria, and the first floor's showroom and second- floor 'mini market and pharmacy clinic' for €1.16 million; and then another 35 underlying garages for €285,349 in 2012. Altogether, the GWU purchased the basement levels and first two floors of the Montebello's A3 Tow- ers for €1.74 million. Media call at Mizieb: Hunters (left) address journalists The GWU's headquarters, the Workers' Memorial Building