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Julian Manduca
According to entrepreneur Angelo Xuereb the Church’s Environmental Commission, headed by Professor Victor Axiaq, lacks objectivity. The Commission had expressed itself in no uncertain terms against Angelo Xuereb’s proposed golf course in the vicinity of the Verdala hotel, Rabat.
Set up by the Church, the Commission had found that the golf proposal is unsustainable and in breach of land-use and other development policies.
Professor Axiak, the deputy dean in the faculty of science at the university of Malta had said the Environment Impact Assessment on the proposed golf course failed to properly assess the negative effect of the proposed development on a number of resources.
“Such resources, he explained, included hydrology, agriculture, the landscape, ecologically sensitive habitats and cultural identity.”
But Angelo Xuereb is not buying those arguments and defended the EIA: “it is a comprehensive document which was compiled by a team of 15 specialised consultants. The 15 consultants are all experts, each specialising in their field.”
Xuereb attacked the Church Commission’s report: “In contrast to the EIA the report presented by the Church’s Environmental Commission has a number of incorrect assumptions.
“The lack of objectivity in the Church’s Environmental Commission’s report is evident and as a result questions its credibility. Is it possible that the report finds nothing acceptable in the EIA?”
Xuereb explained: “One such instance is where the report states that the developers shall be taking all this land from the farmers. The proposed golf course relates to the areas known as ‘It-Tafal tal-Imdina’, ‘It-Tafal tal-Forok’, ‘It-Tafal ta’ Xmejxi’ and ‘It-Tafal tal-Virtu.’
“The land here has clay deposits (tat-tafli) and is not very conducive for agricultural purposes. It must be pointed out that all the farmers are tenants and there is not a single one of them whose livelihood depends solely on this land.
“In all there are seven full times farmers who have a share in this land, however their livelihood depends on the interest they have in other agricultural land elsewhere.
Xuereb believes the land at Verdala can be put to better uses: “one-third of the land will be retained for agricultural use and one of the options available to the farmers is that they continue working the land in the area.
“If this land is converted into vineyards (and I am ready to finance all the capital expenditure in this regard), the farmers will earn more than they do now and with less hardship.”
Xuereb told MaltaToday that while the land currently generates between Lm30,000 to Lm50,000 per annum, with the golf course project the same land will generate double that amount in agriculture plus more than Lm3 million to the tourism industry. “The golf course will also attract increased conference and incentive travel to our islands, especially during the shoulder and winter periods.”
Speaking to MaltaToday about Xuereb’s accusations Professor Axiak said that “The Commission has made no assumptions except those already made by the developer himself and by his consultants.”
Axiak said his Commission had not questioned the autonomy or independence of the respective consultants as appointed by the developer, but only their judgment on the assessment of specific (and by no means, all) impacts.
Axiak invited Xuereb to read the Opinion Paper issued by the Commission. “He will then realise that the Commission has indeed highlighted both the areas of agreement with the EIS as well as those it disagrees with (with justification).”
julian@newsworksltd.com
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