Letters | Sunday, 01 February 2009

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Crafts Village more important than new parliament

The reason brought forward by the government for abandoning the Crafts Village at Ta’ Qali – i.e., because the EU has not accepted to co-finance the project – is simply a very lame excuse!
When former minister Dr George Bonello du Pius first announced the project way back in 1992, Malta was still an independent country outside the EU. And hence the financing of the project could only be the responsibility of the Maltese government. The Crafts Village project continued to be included in all electoral programmes and budget speeches since then, right up to 2002. During all these years Malta was still a non-member state of the EU. And no one could guarantee that Malta would become a EU member state. Hence the financing of the Crafts Village at Ta’ Qali could only have been effected by the government.
Indeed the owners and operators of the Crafts Village were never told that the project would be implemented solely if EU funding is obtained. It was only after Malta joined the EU that the government said that the EU would be co-financing the project: “the work on roads and public spaces (of the Crafts Village project) are going to be financed by funds from the European Union”. (PN Electoral Programme, page 41, Promise no. 23)
Even this statement was deceitful since the government had no guarantee that the EU would accept its request. The Crafts Village project must go ahead at Ta’ Qali and nowhere else, as planned and promised since 1992 and in each electoral programme since then. Especially when we consider that the government is ready to finance the building of another parliament – when we already have one – costing a minimum of €80 million (more likely around €120 million) out of its own financial resources!
Tourism-wise, the Crafts Village at Ta’ Qali is of much more importance than a new parliament!

Eddy Privitera
Mosta

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