Developments on the Labour Party Siġġiewi clubhouse were expected “soon”, a senior party official said without giving details about the ongoing saga.
The deputy leader for party affairs, Toni Abela said he had met Siġġiewi club members two Sundays ago to inform them of the latest developments. “There have been developments and a decision will be announced soon,” Dr Abela said, refusing to enter into the merits of what was discussed with club members.
The meeting was an informative one, he added, and not one where decisions were taken.
The PL is facing eviction from its Siġġiewi clubhouse but an agreement with the government could see it transferring its political operations in the locality to an alternative site.
After mediation by Siġġiewi mayor Robert Musumeci, the PL could be occupying for five years on a temporary lease the adjacent building that now houses the local council. The arrangement will give the party enough time to find another building in the locality to house the club.
The government has so far refrained from giving details about the latest developments in Siġġiewi after the Land Commissioner in June had given the party until the end of August to leave the premises.
The party had filed a judicial protest claiming the government’s eviction order constituted discrimination.
In the judicial protest, Labour claimed the government’s decision not to renew the lease on the property in Siġġiewi’s main square was motivated by partisan politics and was mainly instigated by PN councillor and deputy mayor Karol Aquilina.
It also pointed out that while the government had terminated the lease because it wanted to transfer the building to the Siġġiewi council to use as a day care centre, the council already had a development permit for a day care centre on a plot of land it had bought for that purpose.
The clubhouse had been passed on to the party after a public tender was issued in the 1980s by a Labour government.
The property, formerly known as Villa Siġġiewi, used to belong to Mabel Strickland, daughter of former Prime Minister Gerald Strickland, leader of the Progressive Constitutional Party and editor of The Times between 1935 and 1950.
It was bought by the government in the 1960s and used as a primary school for several years. In 1969, it became a civic centre used by a number of organisations. In 1981, Labour submitted an offer to lease part of the property. It was leased on December 11, 1981 – the eve of the general election – for Lm200 (€465) a year. In 1983, other parts of the building became vacant and the government issued a call for those wishing to lease it. These were then also transferred to Labour.
In 1987, a few months before another general election, which saw a change in Administration, the government accepted a party request and extended the lease for 24 years, expiring last June.