Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/653685
WWW.MALTATODAY.COM.MT WEDNESDAY EDITION €1.00 Newspaper post WEDNESDAY • 16 MARCH 2016 • ISSUE 460 • PUBLISHED EVERY WEDNESDAY AND SUNDAY EDITORIAL PAGE 9 Abela's nomination to Court of Auditors in the balance Government disappointed by 'those who worked to tarnish Abela's reputation' before budgetary control committee's hearing MATTHEW VELLA MALTA'S nominee to the European Court of Auditors, Toni Abela, has been turned down by MEPs of the budgetary control committee, after a tough grilling over his lack of experience for the ECA, with his political life instantly thrown at him by his interviewers. The meeting was adjourned at 12:51pm, allow- ing Abela, former Labour Party deputy leader, to benefit from less time under the glare of his in- quisitors. The MEPs from the CONT committee also re- jected the Polish and Slovak nominations. The committee's recommendation will now go to the European Parliament for a final vote to take place in plenary. The government expressed its disap- pointment that the committee had re- jected Abela's nomination. Whilst thanking the S&D and the Greens for supporting Abela's nomina- tion, the government expressed its dis- appointment about "those who had an interest to tarnish Abela's reputation in the European Parlia- ment". It noted that everyone knows that Abela is a man of integrity. In his reply to a questionnaire from MEPs, Abela had said that if the Par- l i a m e n t found ma- jor objec- tions to his nomination, he would feel obliged to withdraw his candidacy. Abela had to face questions on his limited expe- rience in public office as deputy mayor of Hamrun for Alternattiva Demokratika – one MEP said he had only been a deputy mayor 'of a village', under- lining the small size of the town; and that prior to the 2013 elections he had to face allegations of covering up a drug incident inside one of the Labour Party's clubs (the infamous 'white block' incident). But Abela told MEPs that he had submitted him- self freely to any investigation by the police in 2013 when the PN released fragmented pieces of an unauthorised recording in which Abela is heard recalling an incident in which co- caine was found inside a Labour club. "The incident that was broken in 2013 had happened two years earlier, through a recording I was unaware of. I addressed the press three times on the matter. At the time I was instill- ing discipline in the party by referring to this incident. No action was ever taken against me in three years since then. This incident has only resurfaced now in the press." Abela said he was managing 65 party clubs at the time and that he was laying down the line with p a r t y m e m - bers. PAGE 7 Developer abandons plans for Swieqi tourist village JAMES DEBONO DEVELOPER Rodrick Fene- ch has given up on plans for a 116-room tourist village instead of a cow farm in Wied Ghomor valley in Swieqi, but will be mak- ing another proposal which does not go beyond the footprint of the existing abandoned livestock farm. Fenech however did not ex- pand on what kind of project he will be proposing. "We are simply not in a posi- tion to give further details of the new project as we do not have them," he said. According to Fenech the deci- sion not to proceed with the pro- ject was taken after MEPA gave him negative feedback on the proposal. "Following a negative response from MEPA, we shall not be pro- ceeding." The developer told MaltaToday that the developers are currently going back to the drawing board and are in the process of creat- ing "a new concept based on dif- ferent potential alternatives". He is now committed not to propose any building beyond the footprint already occupied by the present abandoned livestock farm. Asked about the traffic impact of any development on this site Fenech replied any such devel- opment would not impact the traffic situation negatively, not- ing that works are already in progress to widen the main road abutting the site. "This widening is meant to ca- ter for the new and large f low of traffic expected to materialize once the Kappara project gets underway. Should our project materialize, these new road fa- cilities will certainly have the capacity to handle the relatively minuscule volume created as a result." Fenech is also promising that the project will include an ap- propriate planning gain for the neighbourhood. "The idea is that part of the project will be dedicated to the enhancement of Swieqi's social and community life. In this sense, we shall look forward to opening up a dia- logue with the local stakeholders and the residents themselves." PAGE 4 The proposed tourist village was refused because it falls outside the development boundaries and is located in a rural conservation area