Magic kiosk owner complains of unfair treatment, discrimination

Many may have drawn a sigh of relief at the news that the plug is being pulled on the Magic Kiosk but the owner of the establishment says the decision is unfair and discriminatory in his regard.

"There were some 30 to 40 establishments that had lease agreements similar to mine and they were all extended for another 50 years over the past few years. I am the exception, it seems," 73-year-old Joe Pace said yesterday when asked for his reaction to the news.

The Times reported on Wednesday that the government intended to discontinue the lease of the kiosk which expires next December, after 30 odd years. But Mr Pace was unaware of the decision.

"I found out through your newspaper what was happening but when I went to court to see what had been filed they said they had nothing."

A judicial protest was filed on Tuesday on behalf of the Lands Department which had leased the area to Mr Pace for the development of the kiosk between 1974 and 1979. The land occupied by the kiosk was not leased all in one go but through two separate contracts.

The protest points out that one of the contracts expired in 2004 but that the tenant did not evacuate the area. This time, the government is giving notice ahead of the expiry of the second contract - which is December 19, 2008 - that the lease agreement will not be extended.

Mr Pace insists he should be treated as others have. "I want nothing more than others do. I just want the government to treat me fairly," he said.

The idea, an initiative by Rural Affairs Minister George Pullicino and the Parliamentary Secretary for Lands Jason Azzopardi, is to return the square back to its former glory and clear it of the kiosk, which is viewed by many as a hideous landmark on the Ferries.

But, here too, Mr Pace points out that he would be quite happy to downsize and upgrade his kiosk. "I don't want that hideous thing myself. I would be quite happy to turn it into the old-style kiosk with wrought iron but the government should discuss with me and not bulldoze over me.

"At the time it was built it was appropriate, everyone was pulling down wooden balconies and installing aluminium ones. Now times have changed," he said.

The kiosk was shrouded in controversy, primarily as a result of Mr Pace's association with the late Labour Minister Lorry Sant and was even targeted by the boycott which the Nationalist Party had called in the early 1980s against establishments that advertised on the national broadcasting station as part of the party's civil disobedience campaign.

Mr Pace's son-in-law, Louis Scicluna, says some "Christian Democrats" still boycott the place and suggests that someone has an undeclared interest in removing them from the area. But he would not specify who these people might be.

According to Mr Pace, he secured the lease after a public call in which he offered (in 1974) Lm1,500 a year in rent and was subject to a number of conditions, including that he would have to employ about 30 people.

"The people who had the kiosk before me had approached me saying that I had taken their business. I told them that if they paid my architect's bill they could go and sign the lease agreement instead of me but when I told them about the conditions and the money offer I had made, they refused."

He acknowledged that, during a court case he was involved in the mid-1990s, he had testified that he had given Mr Sant a Lm25,000 "gift" that had nothing to do with the Magic Kiosk. "He (Mr Sant) had threatened to shut me down. What was I supposed to do?", Mr Pace asked.

"There are about 30 people working at the kiosk at the moment. If the government just wants to put them on the streets, they'll assume the responsibility for it," he said.

Sketches furnished by the Rural Affairs Ministry indicate that a smaller kiosk is being planned with the catering probably being offered after another call for tenders is made.

The plan is to clear the entire square, have a little kiosk, some benches and a replica of the statue of Daphne that was originally in the square but which was then moved to St Julians, on the square opposite Balluta buildings.

People have their say

The place may be a hideous landmark in the books of many but the reaction of passers-by to the news that the kiosk will go was mixed.

An elderly Sliema couple did not see eye to eye. The wife said they had been coming to the place for years and it had become a second home to them. Her husband, on the other hand, thinks that as long as some shelter is retained, an open square might be a good alternative.

A number of taxi drivers who work close by said that, as it is, the place is great. Mario Sammut said it was pleasing to the eye and is the nicest restaurant around. Another said there were enough squares around.

One shop owner, who did not give her name, said she felt sorry for the workers but that the kiosk is monstrous.

Joe Spiteri, another shop owner, insisted that the new square should be left empty, without a kiosk. He said the building is vile and looked like a barge.

Anthony Borg, who has been a car-park attendant in the area for 21 years, said that Magic Kiosk brought a lot of business and created a nice atmosphere.

Another worker, who preferred to remain anonymous, said she was relieved because the place was an eyesore.

One woman said the place needed refurbishment because it is outdated.

A passer-by said that removing the kiosk was a shame and that an empty square meant nothing.

He praised the staff of the place and said that if replaced by a square certain facilities needed to remain, like clean toilets and areas of shade.

A 64-year-old man from Sliema said he remembers how the square used to be in the past and he preferred it that way. However, he said the service that Magic Kiosk provides was unbeatable and it had become a landmark for locals and tourists alike, one that should not be removed.