Labour stand on new golf course 'in coming days'

The Malta Labour Party will take a stand on the proposed golf course at Ix-Xaghra l-Hamra and Qortin areas in the coming days, Opposition Leader Alfred Sant told The Times yesterday.

A group of Manikata farmers who recently received notices to evict the land they tilled to make way for the proposed development yesterday afternoon met an MLP delegation at the party headquarters in Hamrun. The delegation was led by Dr Sant and included party general secretary Jason Micallef and MPs from the 12th electoral district.

"We heard what the farmers had to say and we will be communicating the party's official stand on the choice of this site very soon," Dr Sant said when contacted yesterday, adding that he would visiting the earmarked site this morning.

"We wanted to give some time to see what the civil society had to say before taking an official stand," Dr Sant said.

Writing in It-Torca last Sunday, the Leader of the Opposition said Malta needed three golf courses to satisfy tourist needs - one in Marsa, one in Ta'Cenc and one between Pembroke and Qawra, adding that the last would be close to the St Julians and Paceville tourist zone. Dr Sant added that the environment in this area had already been destroyed because of the Maghtab dump; therefore a golf course would not cause further damage.

"A strategic decision needs to be taken about where a golf course may be developed, not to please friends of friends but in a way which preserves the countryside," Dr Sant said.

Referring to the same newspaper article, the Tourism Ministry and the Rural Affairs Ministry yesterday welcomed Dr Sant's views.

In a joint statement, the ministries said it was "encouraging" to see that the government and the opposition agreed on the need of a number of golf courses that would add value to Malta as a tourist destination.

The government however rebutted Dr Sant's suggestion of a golf course in Pembroke on grounds that the area was scheduled to the highest environment protection level "unlike the proposed site in the limits of Ghajn Tuffieha".

"The government had asked the competent authorities to come up with the best possible sites bearing in mind the environmental and ecological impacts. In 1996, a Labour government had appointed a committee to choose potential golf course sites without consulting the Malta Environment and Planning Authority," the ministries said.