Prime Minister Robert Abela has publicly denounced the 2000 concession of Manoel Island and Tigné Point to the MIDI consortium, alleging that it favored Nationalist Party contributors at the expense of the Maltese people. Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Abela said the land transfer had been conducted for a modest sum and that the developments, notably at Tigné Point, provided no actual benefit for the people of Malta and Gozo. He stated that Labour MP Edward Zammit Lewis and Labour Party President Alex Sciberras had been tasked with examining the concession for possible legal infractions.
He said the agreement created under the administration of former Prime Minister Eddie Fenech Adami was badly organized and not in the national interest. Both characters have formerly resisted the deal. Sciberras is a signatory to a petition asking Manoel Island be restored to public use as a green area; Zammit Lewis has consistently criticized the concession. Abela remembered his previous role as legal counsel to the Planning Authority and claimed to be the only person to challenge MIDI’s acts under both the governments of Lawrence Gonzi and Joseph Muscat. He reprimanded the consortium for altering the master plan without enough monitoring and stated that under his direction such careless conduct would not continue. With me, they won’t act as they wish, Abela noted.
Representatives of the public petition will be welcomed this Friday, following which MIDI’s bondholders and minority shareholders will be addressed. He warned that the consortium will suffer consequences should any contract breaches be found. Reflecting growing public support for turning Manoel Island into a national green park instead of a luxury development, the public petition led by Moviment Graffitti and Flimkien Għal Ambjent Aħjar has collected over 29,000 signatures.
