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Karl Schembri
The Floriana Council has decided to reverse a controversial decision that would have banned all those who do not reside in the locality from entering public gardens for the celebration of Malta’s EU accession on the eve of 1 May.
The decision came after much criticism and the intervention of the Local Councils Department which deemed a motion passed on 6 April, restricting entrance to Floriana residents, as illegal.
MaltaToday revealed last week that the motion – opposed vehemently by Mayor Nigel Holland – would have banned non-residents from entering two of the four public gardens in Floriana, while another two would be accessible only to the sponsors of the WelcomEurope consortium, which is organising the celebrations.
WelcomEurope will still be allotted the Herbert Ganado and King George the Fifth gardens exclusively while the other two Floriana gardens – Vilhena and Sir Luigi Preziosi – will remain open to the public.
PN Councillor Edward Torpiano, who pushed the original motion, had defended his ‘separatist’ stand by saying that the Floriana gardens “would not cope with all the residents of Malta.”
It seems that now he had a change of heart and is defending the new decision as well. He says he will be pushing a motion to open the two gardens to residents and non-residents alike.
The President of the Association of Local Councils, Ian Micallef, said the council was acting beyond its powers in discriminating between Floriana residents and the general public.
“Councils cannot take such discriminatory decisions,” Micallef said.
The mayor, who had described the original decision as “absolutely ridiculous,” is still unsatisfied with the outcome. He believes all public gardens should be open to everyone and that WelcomEurope’s sponsors should not have been given exclusive access.
“I’m very sad the council gave permission to the consortium to close two of our public gardens to the public,” Holland said. “The public was against such a decision, and the council should interpret the people’s wishes.
“It’s a pity and a lot of people are disappointed. They’re angry actually. Public gardens are enjoyed especially when there are public celebrations. In this case it’s like having a beautiful church which is out of bounds for the public in the feast of its patron saint.”
WelcomEurope has justified its call for banning the public from Valletta’s and Floriana’s public gardens overlooking Grand Harbour on the grounds that it needs to make good for the shortfall between the Lm270,000 government is paying the consortium and the real cost of the light show and other events organised for the occasion.
karl@newsworksltd.com
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