Conrad Borg Manche, Gżira mayor

Manoel Island is the island that gives the locality of Gżira its name. As the mayor of this locality, since my first day in office I wanted Manoel Island to be enjoyed again, as I remember it was in the past. I know how much this island means to our community – and  indeed – the wider community of Malta, as a getaway, a green lung and a peaceful spot where we can all escape from the congestion and overdevelopment of our area.

The community felt left out when access to Manoel Island was closed for 17 years. It is for this reason that as mayor I immediately sought ways to rectify the situation soon after I came to office. Initially, the emphasis was simply about public access to the Manoel Island foreshore but after thoroughly researching the legal documents and parliamentary documents, working hand in hand with Claire Bonello and activist Andre Callus, we realised that there were other issues at stake.

After the presentation of the draft masterplan by Midi, we thought that the public deserved to have guaranteed access to Manoel Island, as well as some sort of permanent measures safeguarding that the majority of it would remain green and untouched and that it would not be commercialised. We felt that elements such as a casino on site would detract from the charm of the island.

The guardianship deed, which is a public deed in other words, created a servitude towards the foundation of Manoel Island

The way the fort was going to be turned into a boutique hotel accessible only for paying guests was also a no go for the community and us. Another important point was that we wanted to have guaranteed unencumbered swimming points without water traffic endangering swimmers –­ so the water taxi point in front of the fort (as originally proposed) would have made this impossible. Now, all these factors have to be taken in the context of the emphyteutical concession which had been granted to Midi way back in 2000 by the government of the time. Midi already was entitled to this concession, so it was not a matter of scrapping already-acquired legal rights. Rather, we sought to find a compromise where the community would retain certain rights and, most importantly, have a mechanism where those rights could be enforced. 

After months of discussion, we came up with a solution whereby a foundation would be created and it would have legal rights and juridical interest to enforce the obligations that Midi undertook to uphold in the guardianship deed. So now the foundation (made up of myself, Bonello, Ralph Mangion (Gżira deputy mayor) and Mark Portelli (Midi CEO) is  Manoel Island’s guardian on behalf of the community.

The guardianship deed, which is a public deed in other words, created a servitude towards the foundation of Manoel Island; provides enforceable commitments governing public access to Manoel Island public park, the foreshore, swimming zones and Fort Manoel; as well as limiting the building heights of the residential units to be developed on Manoel Island and reference is made to the masterplan presented to us.

The need for nature and a break from the intensive commercialisation of all open spaces has been recognised, and Midi has undertaken not to allow commercial activity within the park or structures to encroach upon it. The same undertaking has been taken with regards to the foreshore. Protected swimming zones for bathers are established, with no marine traffic throughout. The casino idea has been ditched and the grand Fort Manoel will be mainly a cultural hub with retail, not a hotel and the uses are also determined.

The guardianship deed has been hailed by the Prime Minister as the first in its kind and an example to be followed. He was supportive of the process of dialogue throughout as we all realise that projects will only be sustainable if they balance the needs of the community, of the environment with those of investors.

Wayne Hewitt, Minority leader of Gżira

The Nationalist Party has been at the forefront of the argument to opening up Manoel Island to Gżira residents and the public at large. Indeed, the concession agreement, voted by both sides of Parliament and signed by the then Nationalist government in 2000 with Midi, specified in no uncertain ways that Midi had to provide public access to Manoel Island’s foreshore and a green public park. Moreover, public domain legislation, passed through a Bill presented by PN MPs Jason Azzopardi, Marthese Portelli and Ryan Callus in 2016, further etched the foreshore as public domain ‘by nature’.

After being voted minority leader of Gżira in 2015 with the largest number of individual votes from both parties, I remember being one of the first councillors to mention and agree that the lengthy closure of Manoel Island to the public was unacceptable, and the council, as representative of Gżira residents was obliged to look into the matter without further delay. Indeed the mayor was a driving force behind this initiative, and the Nationalist councillors attended all public protests on the matter of Manoel Island’s closure of the foreshore. As leader of the Nationalist councillors, I have personally attended all meetings, that I was invited to attend, between the council, the various environment NGOs, the architects, Foster & Partners, and Midi.

Lack of transparency is fuelling distrust

At an informal meeting about the issue of Manoel Island between the Gżira councillors, I remember vividly voicing my concern that Fort Manoel was planned to be used as a hotel. I insisted on the public accessibility of the fort’s yard especially and that measures be proposed to ensure that the planned built-up area of the island does not rise more than a certain height.

The mayor, with the backing of the government, also took this argument forward with Midi and a guardianship agreement was eventually signed to ensure that what was agreed is monitored throughout the development and lifetime of the project.

The Nationalist Party hails such guardianship agreements as a positive development in ensuring the right balance is struck between developers, the government and civil society at large. However, the Labour Party, represented in majority within the Gżira local council, turned down a proposal by the National Party councillors, that a representative of the Opposition is listed as one of administrators of the guardianship agreement to ensure better oversight and transparency.

I am mentioning this point because it is evident that while guardianship agreements are, in essence, well-meaning initiatives, transparency by this government leaves much to be desired. We cannot have the Prime Minister paying lip service to the word ‘unity’ when it loses every opportunity to be transparent when signing contracts. Recent political history has been rife with examples of lack of transparency by Joseph Muscat’s administration, be it blanked out contracts signed with Electrogas, Autobuses de Leon, Henley and Partners, Shanghai Electric, ITS et al, to name a few.

Within this context it is of no surprise that a group of NGOs is coming together to safeguard Malta’s patrimony. Such a lack of transparency, mixed with this government’s defiant insistence to trample on planning laws and abusive handout of green land is fuelling distrust. A distrust based on a government-fuelled impression that it is only there to please its party’s financial donors and not to strike a rational balance between development and the environment at large.

The Nationalist Party will continue to strive to improve transparency, oversight and communication with the various developers and environment NGOs in order to achieve a good balance of much-needed development to service a growing population while respecting the long-term health of our environment.

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