Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/764316
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 18 DECEMBER 2016 30 Letters Vans stocked to the brim with merchandise collected from Sicily, just hours away by sea on the catamaran ferries that regularly cross the Maltese channel, are cutting in on legitimate traders' business in what is being described as a 'racket' of illegal parallel trading. Entrepreneurs and traders who spoke to this newspaper are talking of their exaspera- tion at illegal traders driving up to Sicily by ferry to transport merchandise back to the island, without being licensed or paying the taxes and charges upon landing. "They have cut into our trade radically, by using ferries and not having to pass by customs, declare the merchandise, present any manifest of goods being carried, or even pay the haulers to take the merchandise to Hal-Far," an established firm told Business Today. The illegal parallel trading has gone beyond mere booze cruises and now turned into an underground enterprise of illegal 'groupers', who collect merchandise in Sicily – mainly clothes and detergents amongst other items – for various Maltese traders. Their prices are net of government taxes and charges, because they are bypassing customs and port authorities by taking domestic ferries. By law, any groupage – a consignment of goods carried for commercial purposes and destined for more than one trader – has to land at the Hal-Far Groupage Complex, as the authorised landing place for the unloading of groupage consignments. This includes paying haulers the fixed rates to transport the consignment to the Hal-Far complex. But the illegal traders are ferrying the goods using the catamaran service, bypass- ing all authorities. This newspaper is also informed that the Commissioner of Police and the Prime Minister, as well as the finance and justice ministers, are aware of the problem which has become a serious concern for the private sector, which in turn has repeatedly at- tempted to bring the issue to the authorities' attention. Victor A. Galea, the president of the Chamber of Commerce, has lamented the lack of market surveillance at the points where illegal traders have been disembarking from ferries without pay- ing any VAT, eco-contribution, or other taxes. "This problem is creating economic complications, in terms of unfair competition, and loss of turnover for companies and foregone tax revenue for government," he told Business Today. Another established firm stated it had lost 1,200 cubic metres in merchandise transported to Malta because of illegal parallel traders – amounting to well over Lm30,000 in lost business. The Chamber of Commerce has already taken the initiative to organise meetings with departmental heads of government authorities, namely cus- toms, the VAT department, the market surveillance unit, the consumer and competition department, as well the port authorities and the Malta Standards Authority. The Chamber is now proposing the setting up of a task force that will be armed with executive powers to ensure effective market surveillance and en- forcement. "It is ironic that now we are experienc- ing 'cowboy's who not only abuse the European free-trade system, but are ding so to the detriment of the law-abiding entrepreneur who was always loyal to the local customer. The Chamber is ask- ing for a level-playing field," Galea said. Enforcement slackens on illegal parallel trading 17 December, 2006 Send your letters to: The Editor, MaltaToday, MediaToday Ltd. Vjal ir-Rihan, San Gwann SGN 9016 | Fax: (356) 21 385075 E-mail: newsroom@mediatoday.com.mt. Letters to the Editor should be concise. No pen names are accepted. Birgu home for the elderly would be 'destructive blow' In MaltaToday (4 December) you report that Vittoriosa Mayor John Boxall, when asked for his opinion on an old people's home, de- scribed it as a double-edged sword because of its malignant effect on the Vittoriosa habitat on one hand, and the need for such a home on the other. I beg to differ. I see this as a destructive blow to Vittoriosa. There is no social or phil- anthropic motive behind the project. This is a purely commercial enterprise that will be charging commercial rates to cover running costs and leave a margin of profit to the investors. It will be intended for well-to-do retired persons. Old people from Vittoriosa will not afford to pay such fees and will not be admitted unless, of course, there is al- ready some formal or informal arrangement for the government to buy accommodation from the pro-government developers. In past years the area of Tal-Hawli, where the project is proposed to be built, suffered various intrusions and encroachments. But that was a time of unregulated development. The area is now designated as ODZ and that is how it should be treated. What remains of this valley should be preserved as a breath- ing space for the citizens of Vittoriosa. The idea of a home for the elderly should not, however, be discarded. On the opposite site of the proposed area, there is a massive structure with a wide footprint that lies derelict and unutilized: this is the former Fort San Salvatore, originally built by Grand Master Emanuel De Vilhena within the Cot- tonera Fortifications. In the 1970s it served as a pre-cast concrete factory but it has been abandoned for many years and is now vandalized. The plant is not functioning and it looks certain that the present leaseholders are no longer interested in the premises. If St Paul Residential Homes Limited would like to pursue their plans further, they are encouraged to strike a deal or a joint venture with the present incumbents and re-design the home within Fort San Salvatore. During the British period the fort was well looked after and contained army barracks and at one stage also served as an emergency hospital. Admittedly, there will be need for huge reconstruction and restoration works. But it will be money well spent. If it goes through, it will indeed be a double-pronged benefit for Vittoriosa: while the beautiful greenery in Tal-Hawli will be preserved, this historic crumbling building will be re-edified (on the lines of the Order of St John's naval warehouses around Dock No. 1 at Cospicua for the New University), while at the same time the promoters' dream will be realized. There will be another advantage which the present architects seem to be missing: the proposed site is enclosed in the depth of a valley with no proper air circulation and no views; on the other hand Fort San Salvatore stands on a hill facing the north westerly wind and offers good vistas of the surrounding panorama. I trust that the Vittoriosa Local Council, which is due to discuss and consider the ODZ infringement application, will give priority to environmental protection and the absolute need of the people of Vittoriosa for open space. A reasonable compromise is feasible. Lorenzo A. Zahra Vittoriosa No peace with swords Dearth of ammunition Pure horror on Radio Malta At Christmas time, we hear a lot of talk about peace on earth, and about "baby" Jesus, the "Prince of Peace". Christians ascribe to him verses in the He- brew scriptures which supposedly "prophesy" his birth: "For a child will be born to us... His name will be called Wonderful Counsellor... Prince of Peace" (Isaiah 9:6). In the Christian scriptures, we are told: "He came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near" (Ephe- sians 2:13-18). But Jesus' own words give the lie to these no- tions of peace, least of all in the family: "Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to turn a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother- in-law. A man's enemies will be members of his own household. Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me." (Matt. 10: 34-37) John Guillaumier St Julian's All English language newspapers have admit- ted at one time or another that J. Guillaumier is given red carpet treatment. At the moment he is dead set to transmit a sombre message to readers that man's ultimate destiny is vanish- ing into oblivion. It's hard to believe that J. Guillaumier is short of ideas but I hope he does not run out of am- munition, because his letter "Celestial promis- sory notes" (20 November, 2016) is a replica of the one appearing in the Malta Independent (8 November, 2015). The people Guillaumier quotes are analogical in personality and credibility to Jesus Christ as paper bomb to the explosion of 20,000 one-megaton hydrogen bombs, a molehill and a mountain, as a drop in the ocean or a part of 20 million million. It was the latter who said "Heaven and Earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away." (Luke 21:33). Food for thought! John Azzopardi Zabbar For some 15 years, Radio Malta's flag- ship, Familja Wahda, took all incoming calls from listeners, including those that don't display their number. A few months before this summer, a well-known Labour-leaning listener who hogs the programme on an almost daily basis, rang in complaining with the pre- senter that he doesn't agree that callers-it 'hide' their numbers. The presenter, knowing who the caller was, put up a weak defence, diffidently saying that she never had any problems with crank-callers. Seeing that he had met resistance, the caller ended the call saying: "Then I'll have to speak to whomever I have to speak, and I'll leave you at that". Two days later, in her introduction to the programme, just before the presenter gave a run-down of the segments of the morning's programme, she announced that PBS management had issued a directive whereby she could accept only phone-calls displaying their number. That was some six months ago. Last week, 9th December, that same caller rang in while the programme's guest was a professor of sustainable development. Introducing himself as the one whose efforts made it possible to have callers' numbers displayed, the man went on a nauseating spiel and ended with a comment that is pure, Statis-like horror. He said that now, if someone phones in and says something that was not to his taste, he can now obtain the caller's number and set him straight. He made no mention that he would ask the other caller's permission first, imply- ing that he has a free rein at PBS and a clear deck as to pick and choose from the phone numbers saved in the memory of the telephone system of PBS, so as to straighten out any caller that steps out of line. One can never imagine that this man's comment was the result of bluster. He couldn't have made up a statement like that unless he has the backing of the top management at PBS, or a corrupt employee who passes this information on to him. Despite the fact that more than a week has gone by, the management at PBS has not seen it fit to issue a statement to allay the fears of its listeners. This is a clear violation of the Data Protection Act, for which I passed on the case to the Commissioner of Data Protection. I am also sending the editor a link to the programme in question. Joseph Genovese Birkirkara