Proposed move part of plan to improve city, government argues

The government yesterday filed a counter-protest in the First Hall of the Civil Court following a claim for damages made by 115 Valletta hawkers in a protest filed last week.

The Union Haddiema Maghqudin (UHM) had filed a protest on behalf of the hawkers against the Prime Minister, the Minister of IT and Investment, the Minister of Competitiveness and Communication, the Parliamentary Secretary responsible for Small Businesses and the self-employed and the Police Commissioner.

The union complained about the government's decision to move the 115 hawkers from Merchants Street, where they had been operating for the last 18 years, to a temporary area in St James Ditch. The government planned to eventually move the hawkers to a site further down Merchants Street.

According to the union, this decision was detrimental to the quality of life of the hawkers and their families. It was also null and it did not result that all the necessary permits for the proposal to be implemented were in hand.

But the government yesterday replied that its decision was not capricious but had been taken after consultation with the businesses that operated in Valletta.

The hawkers' stalls in Merchants Street were not compatible with the government's plans for that part of the street, as this area was to be a pedestrian zone.

The government was also investing in new paving for this zone.

In yesterday's reply, the government added that its plans for Merchants Street were part of the intrinsic plan to improve the local touristic product and specifically Valletta as a World Heritage Site.

Merchants Street contained the oldest palaces built by the knights and that had survived bombing during the war, but they were totally obscured by the open-air market.

In conclusion, the government dismissed the union's claims and said that the alternative site offered to the hawkers was central and prominent. The government also added that nothing in the law precluded the government from implementing this relocation.

Lawyer Joseph Bonello signed the counter-protest.