Former Transport Minister Jesmond Mugliett confirmed that the government was previously committed not to issue new licences for motor hearse operators.
The commitment dates back to May 2006 when an agreement drafted by the Malta Transport Authority (ADT) and the Ministry for Transport, and discussed with the Motor Hearses Association, included a written commitment on the government’s part not to issue any new licences for motor hearses.
The former minister also made it clear that the commitment not to liberalise this sector was not a personal decision. “The commitment not to issue further licences for motor hearses was not a decision I took on my own,” Mugliett wrote in an email sent to MaltaToday.
But Mugliett would not confirm whether this decision was taken at Cabinet level.
According to the former Minister the draft agreement which included this commitment was never signed because the motor hearses owners did not accept the ADT’s conditions and the authority refused to accommodate the owners’ additional demands.
Contacted by MaltaToday a spokesperson for Austin Gatt’s ministry insisted that since no agreement was ever signed, there was never a commitment not to issue new licences in this sector.
“No agreement was ever signed neither by Minister Mugliett nor by Minister Austin Gatt. Therefore for all intents and purposes there was no agreement not to issue any new licences,” a Ministry spokesperson told MaltaToday.
Two weeks ago, the Motor Hearses Association’s lawyer Adrian Camilleri told MaltaToday that “a written agreement was being discussed whereby, amongst many other things, the Malta Transport Authority would not issue further licences in this sector.”

jdebono@mediatoday.com.mt