Three Labour mayors boycott launch

Three Labour Party mayors have confirmed that they boycotted last Saturday's launch of the government's regeneration plan for Grand Harbour, although the party's general secretary denied a claim that he had ordered seven of his councillors to stay away.

The MLP mayors of Xghajra, Kalkara, Vittoriosa, Senglea, Cospicua, Paola and Marsa were conspicuous by their absence during a ceremony at the Upper Barrakka Gardens in Valletta hosted by Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi and Investments Minister Austin Gatt.

Twenty proposals were unveiled in a bid to revamp the area, including a new cruise liner terminal in Senglea, the conversion of Sir Paul Boffa Hospital into a hotel and the afforestation of Kalkara Valley.

The Cospicua, Vittoriosa and Marsa mayors said they absented themselves from the event because they had not been consulted. The others said they just could not make it.

In a statement, the Investments Ministry said the mayors turned down the invitation, despite the fact that some had already confirmed their attendance.

Dr Gatt said they were presumably following an MLP directive. The boycott, he added, was a bad start to the consultation process on the Grand Harbour proposals, which were in the interest of residents.

He said that no local council with a Nationalist majority had turned down an invitation by the Labour leader.

The government genuinely hoped that the councils of these localities would genuinely represent the interests of their residents and not of the party that controlled them.

When contacted, MLP general secretary Jason Micallef flatly denied Dr Gatt's suggestion of a boycott.

"Our mayors were not given any instructions," he said. "What is shameful is the attitude of Nationalist-led councils like Naxxar, Attard and Ghajnsielem which are refusing to make proposals for Labour's offer to help them carry out two projects within their locality."

Marsa mayor Francis Debono described the government's proposals for Grand Harbour as nothing more than a pre-election gimmick.

"I refuse to wine and dine at the expense of the nation when there is nothing concrete for Marsa in the proposals."

Mr Debono said he found it ludicrous that the only proposal for Marsa was the closure of the power station, something which had been promised 20 years ago.

Vittoriosa mayor John Boxall agreed, and said his council was never consulted about the plans, unlike the Labour Party's proposals to regenerate the Grand Harbour.

"They didn't need to take on board our proposals but at least they should have given us the chance to listen to our views. I also don't believe that the Nationalist government can carry out in a few months what it has failed to do in 20 years," said Mr Boxall, who did admit, however, that the Cottonera project had helped regenerate the area.

Kalkara and Paola mayors Michael Cohen and Dominic Grima said they had both informed the ministry they could not make it to the event.

"I didn't go because I was in Gozo. I had no contact with the party about the matter; it's in our interest to attend," Mr Cohen said. Senglea mayor Joseph Casha opted out of the Barrakka event because of two other activities, though the locality was represented by two other councillors.

Insisting that he was ill, Xghajra mayor Anthony Valvo said he was surprised at the claims, especially since the council was in close contact with the ministry over the SmartCity project. Likewise, Paola mayor Dominic Grima said he opted out because of an 11th hour family health issue.

Cospicua mayor Joseph Scerri said he decided to boycott the event because the government had not bothered to consult the council.

"It's not the first time we've been left in the dark about these plans; I can't even believe that Dock No. 1 is not included in the plan," Mr Scerri protested.

He insisted that the government should set as a priority the declining level of education in his locality, as evidenced by the poor pass rates for the Junior Lyceum. The local council intends to discuss the Grand Harbour proposals during a meeting on Thursday.