Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/582103
maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 7 OctObEr 2015 7 News NOTICE Request for Expression of Interest - Audit Services The Electoral Commission requests Audit and Accountancy Firms to convey their interest in providing the required professional auditing services to the Electoral Commission in accordance with and for the purposes of all the various relevant provisions and requirements emanating from the Financing of Political Parties Act (Chap. 544). This is a three-year assignment with the option to extend for a further period at the discretion of the Electoral Commission. While any queries or requests for clarification on the subject are to be made by email to the Chief Electoral Commissioner at joseph.church@gov.mt, by not later than Thursday, 15 October 2015, the expressions of interest are to be submitted in writing and addressed to the Chief Electoral Commissioner, Office of the Electoral Commission, Evans Building, Merchants Street, Valletta, VLT 2000, by not later that Wednesday, 21 October 2015. Apart from all relevant details, such expressions of interest, for the provision of the aforementioned services, should include: • A declaration unequivocally confirming that the Audit and Accountancy Firm is not, directly or indirectly, affiliated with, and does not provide any services to any political party or any company in which a political party may be in any way involved or have any interest; • Affirmation that the Audit and Accountancy Firm possesses sufficient organisational back-up to be able to meet at all times the demands of all relevant provisions in the Financing of Political Parties Act (Chap. 544), within time-frames as set by the Electoral Commission; and • The full name of the Audit and Accountancy Firm, the complete list of the Firm's full-time personnel performing audit work, its postal, email and website addresses, its telephone numbers, and the name, surname and telephone number/s of the contact person. While all communications will be duly acknowledged, the Electoral Commission will be holding a briefing session with the interested Audit and Accountancy Firms to provide further details on its requirements. Offers with financial proposals, based on the requirements of the Electoral Commission, are therea er to be received in a sealed envelope marked Confidential and sent by hand to the Chief Electoral Commissioner, Office of the Electoral Commission, Evans Building, Merchants Street, Valletta, VLT 2000, by not later than 12:00 noon of Thursday, 12 November 2015. www.electoral.gov.mt Ownership of coastline not a planning issue – MEPA MEPA policy securing public ownership of coastline substituted by vague SPED objectives JAMEs DEbOnO "Ownership is not a plan- ning issue." This was the reply of a Malta environment and planning Authority spokesper- son when asked about the plan- ning vacuum created by the re- moval of specific structure plan policies enacted to ensure that the coastline remains in public ownership. prior to the approval of the strategic plan for the environ- ment and Development in July, specific planning policies to en- sure that the coastline falls un- der public ownership and that all illegal structures like illegal boathouses are removed as stip- ulated by the structure plan. when asked which policies presently protect public access of the coastline, a MepA spokes- person replied that Coastal Ob- jectives CO1 and CO3 included in the new strategic plan for the environment and Development "require public access and use to the coast". Coastal Objective CO1 states that "public access and use" must be prioritised alongside the protection of biodiversity and cultural heritage. The policy objective refers to the need to secure "visual access from promenades and enhance public use of bathing areas" should also be secured. As regards the rural coastline it states the planning author- ity should "encourage public access" for informal recreation while also "improve small scale beach facilities". Coastal Objective C03 fa- cilitates "the provision of new recreational facilities which do not restrict or interfered with physical and visual access of the coast". These policies would facili- tate the setting up of platforms on rocky beaches and jetties by the private sector as long as the beach remains "accessible" to the general public. As things stood before the approval of speD, case officers could still invoke CZM3 against any pri- vate coastal development set on the coastline. These vague objectives sharp- ly contrast with far stricter and wide-ranging policies included in the structure plan. policy CZM 3 made it clear that, "public access around the coastline immediately adjacent to the sea or at the top of cliffs will be secured. This will in- clude taking shore-lands into public ownership, government acquisition of illegal develop- ments and encroachment." Moreover, according to the structure plan, "all the coast- line will be brought into public ownership within a specified period". policy reC 12 also called for the demolition of all illegal stone built structures on the Maltese coast. The structure plan warned that if these structures "are al- lowed to remain, evicted shanty users (in other localities) would ask why they are being proceed- ed against and not the others, and most importantly it would be seen as another case of bene- fit accruing to those who break the law at the expense of those who do not, and a signal that it is worth attempting further il- legal development because of the government's reluctance to enforce the law." These policies were never implemented in full, but were strategically invoked by case officers when faced by applica- tions which denied public ac- cess to the coast. CZM3 was regularly invoked to turn down any application limiting access to the coastline or to regular- ise illegal developments on the coastline. One recent case where the policy was specifically invoked was with regards to an appli- cation by the Ta' Cenc hotel owners to set up a timber gate to control access to the Kantra beach. The planning directo- rate had argued that CZM 3 ap- plied to any structure located on both private and public land hindering access to the coast- line. it also argued that no de- velopment should prejudice the structure plan commitment to bring back all coastal land in public ownership. An appeal on this application is currently be- ing heard by the environment and planning review tribunal. Various applications for beach concessions – including one in Ferro Bay – were also turned down because of CZM3. pol- icy reC 12 practically made it impossible for MepA to ap- prove any sanctioning of illegal boathouses in Marsaskala and Armier. Structure plan policy CZM03 which has been removed was invoked to stop beach concessions on Sliema host Smart City hospital to rise seven storeys St John Paul II hospital at Smart city to include solar canopy and sports facilities JAMEs DEbOnO A planning application has been presented for the construction of st John paul ii hospital in smart City, which is being proposed over seven floors, a semi-basement floor and one floor of underlying parking ga- rages. The new 200-bed state-of-the-art private hospital, to be built near the entrance of smart City in Xgħajra, was announced last March. The planning application was sub- mitted by smartCity Malta CeO Anthony p. Tabone. plans presented to MepA show that extensive use of solar energy will be made. These include a mas- sive solar panel canopy over a large part of the building. The project is estimated to con- sume 5 million kwh of energy an- nually, the equivalent of the average amount of energy consumed by 1,000 people in a year. The hospital building itself will include a large canopy of solar pan- els covering a substantial part of the building. The hospital will include vari- ous landscaped areas over a mas- sive 16,604 square meter footprint, which will include a restaurant, a running track, an outdoor gym, a turfed soccer ground. According to information di- vulged in March the new invest- ment company with Maltese and italian interests will invest €100 million in the project, which will include a strategic partnership with Johnsons and Johnsons, one of the largest worldwide companies in the health sector. The new hospital will specialise in the field of orthopaedic with surgical and outpatient activity and is set to employ 500 people. ODZ fireworks factory proposed in Siggiewi JAMEs DEbOnO A brand new fireworks factory is being proposed outside develop- ment zones over 12,360 square metres of agricultural land in the area known as Tal-handaq in sig- giewi. The fireworks factory is being proposed in the vicinity of the po- lice academy in Ta' Kandja. Victor ellul, who owns the land in question, presented the appli- cation. The development includes a number of existing rooms and reservoirs. in 2005 MepA had rejected an application presented by the same Victor ellul to construct a fire- works factory in another site at Ta'Kandja in siggiewi. The new MepA policy allows fireworks factories in ODZ ar- eas with the exception of Areas of ecological importance and on archeological sites. Development is not barred on good quality agricultural land or buffer zones close to a water serv- ices Corporation potable borehole. These are decided upon on a case- by-case basis.