Ice-cream vendor fights for parking slot
A court has provisionally accepted a request from an ice-cream vendor to issue a warrant of prohibitory injunction to stop government officials from removing his kiosk in St George's Bay.
Carmelo Tanti in his request said he had been ordered by the Director of Lands, to remove his kiosk - Tanti Junior Paradise.
He said the Director of Lands had no authority to issue his order since he was not illegally occupying public land. His kiosk was mobile and it was parked every morning and driven off in the evening.
The kiosk was legally parked and Mr Tanti said he had the relevant permits to operate as a street hawker. Furthermore, enforcement of this order would cost him sustantial loss of earnings.
Dr David Camilleri signed the request.
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29 Comments
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Jason Magro
Aug 16th 2010, 21:00
According to legal notice 1/2006, part 32:-
"A street hawker may ALSO carry out his commercial activity FROM A FIXED PLACE BY PARKING HIS VEHICLE, to sell to his customers... "
This shows that street hawkers do not have to be on the move all the time. Before pointing our fingers and accusing others of not abiding by the law, isn't it better if we know ourselves what it says?
CZARB
Aug 12th 2010, 10:36
Whats the point of buying a shop for thousands of euros when a street hawker can park its abnomination just in the middle of a tourist hot zone? This situation is creating an unfair competition and if it degenerates we may well end up not finding parking because of street hawkers monopolizing an entire area. Such thing is happening at Ghajn tuffieha where there is already 2 street hawkers there.
PS I am not in the retail industry.
Charles J. Buttigieg
Aug 12th 2010, 08:23
With all the corner grocery shops and Supermarkets and mini markets and green grocers do we need street hawkers? Sirna qisna Hong Kong.
daniel attard
Aug 12th 2010, 06:29
why only this one ??? there is a fruit and veg vendor in naxxar that parks in front of the parish church in 2 parking space that is limited for 1hr parking only and when the police or wardens arrive they give a ticket to all the cars which have no parking clock but they leave this vendor alone
Karl Consiglio
Aug 12th 2010, 02:30
Kemm ghandna action St Georges bay.
mario aquilina
Aug 11th 2010, 22:15
What does 'Halluh jaqla lira' means?
Does this also apply to the hundreds that register for work, in full view of people who know what is going on, week after week, and year after year, while being employed and paid in cash.
Where shall I start from? Street hawkers permanently parked in front of hotels to fleece the tourist. Street hawkers who are permanently parked on street corners where you and me will normally get a ticket. Street hawkers who park another car of their own in the same spot before going home, so that the place will be available the following day and the one after.
And how about the boat houses. Seen the ones in Bugibba, where these owners concreted three car lenghts infront of these boathouse and installed poles and chains so that no one parks.
The same goes to the beaches, where the best spots for the umbrella and deck chairs, are taken early morning by the chosen few.
This goes on because of your poor mentality. Hallih jaqla lira jew aghlaq ghajn wahda, is wrong in my book. Why should anyone get away with anything at somebody else's expense.
A.Busuttil
Aug 11th 2010, 21:47
Director of land is right. He pays peanut and taking the job of nearby bars.
Rita Dimech Portelli
Aug 11th 2010, 21:14
I confirmed with the Police that hawkers cannot park for the whole day at one place, yet here in Balluta one hawker has even got his own yellow reserved parking. Can anyone beat that for breaking the law??????????
albert grech
Aug 11th 2010, 19:27
Its all a question of sour grapes. Keep on selling your good homemade icecreams at reaonable prices, Good luck Charlie
Ron Saliba
Aug 11th 2010, 18:24
the question remains... why remove him? is he annoying someone there? maybe the other establishments reported him out of spite? Hope he wins his case and he ll stay there.
Pajjiz mimli nies ghajjurin gejna. Kull lira li taqla trid taghmilla qrun. xi dwejjaq ta poplu.
Marcel Dingli
Aug 11th 2010, 18:34
Sewwa qed tghid Ron. Meta jkolli cans immur nixtri gelat minn ghandu ha naghmillu kuragg.
B.Attard
Aug 11th 2010, 19:14
Qas jahmluh jaqla l-hobza ta' kuljum, xi dwejjaq ta pajjiz. Mhux t b'xejn salt nies jippreferu jghixu bir relief u jmorru jirregistraw HASSLE FREE!!!
marthese mussett
Aug 11th 2010, 19:40
Sew qed tghid Ron,jien gieli xtrajt minghandu.Ma kien qed idejjaq lil hadd.Bniedem ibiegh il gelat hdejn il bahar,jipprova jaqla lira fis Sajf.
Joseph Cauchi
Aug 11th 2010, 18:15
@ Marcel Dingli,
By your own admission you condone people breaking the law as long as there is political advantage!
What twisted logic is this?
No wonder we are in certain situations because of people like you, unfortunately!
Miskina Malta!
JC.
Marcel Dingli
Aug 11th 2010, 18:27
No i dont condone breaking the law. I condone everyone abides by it. Hu min hu. U ifhimni. Seems this is a country of a hundred weights and a thousand measures.
Philip Hili
Aug 11th 2010, 23:42
Sewwa qieghid tghid Marcell. Mhux Hundred weights and thousands measures, imma izjed minn hekk.
Joseph Cauchi
Aug 11th 2010, 18:09
It is abundantly clear that most of the street hawkers are abusing the law.
I am not referring to this particular case; but most of them have capriciously secured a particular site for years and years on end and without ever giving any chance to someone else to use this same site!
They act as if they OWE this land!
And if by chance, someone decides to try to occupy “their” land (!), and then be sure that the “Third World War” has begun.
I do not believe this is the spirit of the law!
If not, then it is about time the authorities start rectifying the matter.
JC.
C. Farrugia
Aug 11th 2010, 17:50
There is a similar case at the Ferries, where the vendor is so mobile that he has a fixed electricity meter. In this case he says that he moves at night at parks again in the morning, Why doesn't anyone try to park in his spot and see the consequences. In the case of the Sliema Ferries there was one occasion where a mercedes was parked in the ice cream vendor's spot and guess what. We had transport officials trying to persuade the Mercedes owner to move on................... A hawker needs to move to be a hawker otherwise he needs a licence for a stall not a hawker's license.
M. Fenech
Aug 11th 2010, 17:13
Qed jiccajta hux?!!?
"He said the Director of Lands had no authority to issue his order since he was not illegally occupying public land. His kiosk was mobile and it was parked every morning and driven off in the evening."
I Abela
Aug 11th 2010, 17:42
Le mhux jiccajta !!
A street hawker can park his vehicle anywhere where it is permissible to park a vehicle. If you can park in a spot near St. Georges Bay, then this Ice Cream vendor can park as well, and since he is in possession of a Licence, he can sell Ice Creams as well. That's why licences exist in the first place.
In such a case many authorities could approach this man, such as Transport Malta, VAT Department, Trading Department, Police, etc But the LANDS DEPARTMENT has absolutely no authority in such case.
K Cachia
Aug 11th 2010, 19:42
Mr. Abela, I beg to differ. You will find that a hawker has no right to stop in a fixed place at any time of the day. The conditions of thier licence states that they are allowed to drive along a street and stop only to serve customers or to sell from door to door.
This may sound a bit exaggerated but you would think very differently if you owned a supermarket at considerable expense only to find a truck parked on your doorstep selling fruit and veg.
Maybe, just maybe in this case he is at an advantage to someone in the vicinity who has set up shop selling ice creams. I believe competion is very healty but one must compete on a level playing field. If he wants to sell from this spot he should buy the land he occupies and apply to open a shop with the necs licences.
Having said that I think this guy has damn good ice cream and so does the one near Splash & Fun.
H galea
Aug 11th 2010, 17:05
Mr Tanti, abuse is abuse, you can move somewhere else, even if vote against!!!
Marcel Dingli
Aug 11th 2010, 17:32
At this rate the PN would be lucky if it musters 25% of the elctorate at the next elections. Keep at it dear Government, the more you lose votes , the better. The bitter cup is overlowing and we have had enough of injustices, discrimination and arrogance, not to mention the strong smell of corruption.
Carmel Xuereb
Aug 12th 2010, 10:13
Marcel Dingli yes maybe the PN is losing a lot of votes. All this because the government is now trying to enforce the law, even at the expense of losing a lot of sympathy from the electorate. The way it should always be.
Going by the typical rotten Maltese mentality, who enforces the law is the loser..... according to your mentality, law enforcement is equivalent to injustices, discrimination and arrogance, and corruption.
That's why we will always remain lagging a long way behind when it comes to law enforcement and obsevation in this country, because as soon as the authorities try to do their job and enforce the law, they are called injust and arrogant ... and they are swiped aside to make space for someone "less injust and arrogant".
eric psaila
Aug 11th 2010, 17:02
Halluh jaqla lira. So much for the American dream in Malta. No wonder most Maltese run away from that Island at the first opportunity.
tony abela
Aug 11th 2010, 16:51
I always had the impression that the Street Hawkers' permits are for hawkers to be on the move all the time and they can only stop at any particular place till they serve the clients who are queued up and not to stop at any place and wait for clients.
Thus most of the Street hawkers in Malta are breaking the Law continuously. The fact that the Law is not enforced does not give the right to anybody not to abide with it.
Let's wait and see the outcome of this Test Case!
Anthony A. Mifsud
Aug 11th 2010, 17:35
You are quit right, a hawker should always be on the move, just look at the other Tanti,s at ghar isd dud. Now they have upper buildings and lower storeage.
Is that Hawker permit? I wonder?
Intersesting, I will follow this test case.
Toni
J Micallef
Aug 11th 2010, 17:37
Tista, jekk johgbok, tikkwota liema parti tal-ligi tghidha din. Ghax jekk veru l-ligi tghid hekk veru sew jghidu n-nies li ghandna ligijiet tad-dahk!
Frans Buttigieg
Aug 11th 2010, 17:43
You are right Mr tony abela. They should only park long enough to sell to the customers and then move on. They cannot and should not be allowed to park. Another example is the greengrocer in front of the Fgura Church where besides his shop he parks his truck taking the place of more than two cars with vegetables exposed to the diesel and petrol fumes of the very heavy traffic. Others include another vegetables vendor parked at the Hompesch Arch between Fgura and Zabbar again having all vegetables and fruit such as strawberries exposed to the same very heavy traffic fumes. Another parks at the lower Ghajn Dwieli roundabout. The same can be said of some three or four vegetables vendors parked in Pjazza Dun Tarcis Agius/Marina Street apart from occupying the parking of so many car spaces. I wonder where the Health Inspectors hibernate? When are we going to see them paying a visit to these street vegetables vendors?