Police asked to investigate Naxxar trade fair’s ‘permit’
Karl Stagno-Navarra The director of the Malta Fairs and Conventions Centre (MFCC), Reuben Caruana, has lodged a report with the police over alleged irregularities by MEPA on the re-use of the former Naxxar trade fair grounds, as well as on “intimidating” messages sent by SMS by a senior MEPA official and a company director.
Caruana is claiming that MEPA have “surprisingly fast-tracked” a decision to facilitate the re-use of the former trade fair grounds, when the Central Local Plan clearly states that no more fairs could be held in Naxxar once the events were transferred to Ta’ Qali in 2007.
Caruana stressed that although he has no objection to anybody organising fairs, it was “highly suspicious” that a clear policy was being scrapped, when a MEPA spokesman stated that T.F.E.A. Ltd – a newly formed company that is planning to use the Naxxar grounds – did not need a planning permit for their venture, since the site was already operational since the late 1950s.
Reuben Caruana told police that according to the Central Local Plan, “in the event that the existing Malta Trade Fair activity ceases operating on this site, either through closure or relocation of this land use elsewhere, MEPA will not permit the continued use of this site as a Trade Fair but will allow the entire site to be redeveloped for the following land uses, namely: high quality residential development, a local centre in the westernmost part of the site, the retention and upgrading of the axial central walkway route as designated in the Naxxar Area Policy Map and an underground car park to serve the new residential permits.”
The police were also asked to investigate two text messages Caruana received on his cell phone, one allegedly from a senior director in MEPA, and another from a director in the newly formed T.F.E.A. Limited, the company that has been set up with the purpose of organising commercial fairs and events in Naxxar.
T.F.E.A is made up of members from the Trade Fairs Exhibitors Association, the organisation of exhibitors that previously participated in the Naxxar fair – however, in spite of the similar acronym, the two organisations are not officially linked.
Members of the exhibitors’ association have in fact queried whether T.F.E.A Ltd had in any way dissolved the association and turned it into a commercial company. An action group was formed this week to call on exhibitors to come forward and insist with T.F.E.A. to give explanations to their actions.
T.F.E.A Limited was registered on 3 December with Paul Abela, John J. Camilleri, Darren De Domenico, Anthony Galea, George Demajo and Raphael Micallef as directors, with a share capital of 1,200 shares of €1 each.
Naxxar Mayor Fatima Deguara has insisted that her council was never consulted on the company’s intended use of the Naxxar grounds, especially since the locality was “relieved of the inconvenience” since the fair was transferred to Ta’ Qali under MFCC.
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