Taxpayers may have to fork out as much as €700,000 in compensation to Marsaxlokk monti hawkers under a government scheme whose details were only communicated following the start of the election campaign.
The Labour-led Marsaxlokk council, which is coordinating the scheme on behalf of the Economy Ministry, refuted the suggestion that it was part of a political ploy to gain votes, saying the timing was purely “coincidental”.
Under the offer, which closed yesterday, Marsaxlokk hawkers are being invited to give up their allocated space in return for up to €9,842.52 in compensation. The amount is based on a fixed rate of €500 per foot, depending on the length of the allocated area.
Details of the scheme were communicated to the hawkers in a letter signed by Marsaxlokk mayor Horace Gauci dated May 2, a day after the Prime Minister made the snap election announcement.
According to the document, the “reorganisation” of the Sunday market was part and parcel of the regeneration plan for this fishing village. Hawkers were notified that the government was making a “one-time non-negotiable offer” to renounce their space. Further enquires could be made by phoning the Marsaxlokk council, the letter read. Interested parties were given until yesterday to submit a form at the council’s offices.
Contacted by The Sunday Times of Malta, the mayor insisted that the scheme had been in the pipeline for a long time.
“The timing is purely coincidental as we had been working on it together with the hawkers’ association for more than two years,” Mr Gauci said.
Under the reorganisation plan, the existing 237 stall spaces will have to be reduced by about 75, the mayor said. Consequently, if each hawker were to qualify for the maximum compensation which is reserved for those having an 18-foot long stall, the overall bill would amount to about €688,000.
Mr Gauci, however, pointed out that these funds would not come out of the council’s coffers but from central government.
“The reason why we got involved is that we have been asked by the Economy Ministry to coordinate the scheme,” he said.
The mayor pointed out that discussions on the level of compensation had been going on for years.
“When I was elected mayor two years ago, I had supported the local hawkers to organise themselves by forming an association which was subsequently involved in the negotiations. They managed to get an improved offer as the government’s original bid was of €400 per foot,” he told this newspaper.
It is not known how many hawkers have so far shown interest in forfeiting their allocated slot.
Last year the Economy Minister was forced to offer Valletta monti hawkers €80,000 each to forfeit their licence, following lengthy negotiations on the market’s relocation to Ordnance Street.
The generous payout was four times the initial offer, which had been overwhelmingly rejected by the hawkers.