|
James Debono
Steve McCarthy, chairman of the General Workers’ Union company Union Press, acted as JPM Brothers’ representative for the promise of sale agreement through which the company bought the Jerma Palace Hotel from Libyan-owned Lafico, in a deal which was lambasted by the same GWU.
Rekindling memories of Pender Place, Malta Labour Party deputy leader Charles Mangion also signed the notarial deed for the promise of sale agreement in his capacity as public notary.
Both the GWU and the MLP had expressed outrage that the Jerma in Marsascala, an erstwhile beacon of the tourism industry in the south of the island, was destined to be replaced by a block of apartments.
Alfred Sant himself had broken the news of the hotel’s imminent demolition on September 2, 2006, describing the loss of the Jerma as “yet another blow to the tourism aspect in the south.”
Speaking to PBS News on March 26, Joseph Bugeja, secretary of the GWU hospitality section, expressed his opposition to the closure of the hotel, citing “information that the hotel was to be transformed into flats.”
Bugeja insisted that the land had been transferred to Lafico on condition that it is only developed for tourism purposes.
“The Jerma Hotel occupied a unique strategic point and was a landmark for Maltese tourism,” Bugeja told PBS. The GWU official added that while 55 workers had been absorbed by Corinthia, the future of the remaining 16 workers remained uncertain.
But despite these and other vociferous objections from the GWU, the chairman of the Union’s commercial arm, Steve McCarthy, sees no conflict in being party to the deal, insisting that his involvement in Union Press is strictly a commercial one, and that he has no role in the union’s trade union role.
“The only reason I joined Union Press is because it is a commercial entity. My only aim is to turn the GWU in to a viable commercial entity,” he told MaltaToday. McCarthy also added that he is not even a member of the GWU.
Apart from his role as chairman of Union Press, McCarthy is one of the seven directors of the GWU-owned entity alongside GWU officials Gejtu Mercieca and Andrew Mizzi.
McCarthy is also a director of Gemxija Crown Ltd, a company partially owned by JPM Brothers. He acts as company secretary in a number of companies owned by the Montebello brothers.
When asked whether his role in the Jerma deal contradicts the Union’s concern for the livelihood of some of the hotel’s former employees, McCarthy pointed out that JPM bought the company the site was “free and unencumbered” from any employment obligations of its previous owners.
Mc Carthy also pointed out that the contract still has to be signed and no decision has been taken on whether the site will be developed as a hotel or as apartments.
For his part, MLP deputy leader Charles Mangion sees no political contradiction between his role as the notary of the deal and Alfred Sant’s declaration that the replacement of the hotel with apartments is “a blow to the tourism industry.”
“The MLP leader was right in saying that due to the negative trend in tourism, hotels like the Jerma are closing. We should ask: why are hotels closing down? It is evident that no owner in his right senses would sell a profitable asset.”
But Mangion insists that this political position does not in any way preclude him from excercising his profession as a notary.
“My role is simply limited to establish the legal title to the land in question and I have no say on how this site will be developed in the future. This is something which can only be determined by the Malta Environment and Planning Authority.”
He also pointed out that the promise of sale agreement in itself does not imply that the hotel will be demolished or redeveloped in any way.
Asked whether his role in the deal undermines the political credibility of the MLP, the MLP’s deputy leader insists that he cannot be expected to stop excercising his profession.
“I am in the same position of many lawyers in parliament who defend people accused of breaking laws enacted by the same parliament.”
Unlike Pender Place – another case in which Notary Mangion was involved as notary – the Jerma site was never owned by the government and the promise of sale agreement involved two commercial entities.
The land on which the Jerma Palace Hotel was built originally belonged to the Franciscan Conventuals and Ivan Burridge, and was sold to San Tumas Holdings, which in turn sold it to the Libyan Lafico in 1976. Corinthia used to manage the hotel through a management agreement.
MEPA’s local plan allows for the development of residential apartments in the area, as long as the site is used mainly for tourism purposes.
|
