Activist group condemns further loss of arable land to accommodate top Infrastructure Malta contractor

Farmers, residents and activists held a Press Conference on Saturday morning in Burmarrad on the site of agricultural land and a nearby reservoir that are in danger of being lost due to proposed road works by Infrastructure Malta.

The road works consist of a roundabout to be built next to the Bonnici Brothers headquarters, who also have an application for a supermarket to be built on ODZ land adjacent to their headquarters. The supermarket application (PA 8024/18) was submitted back in 2018. However, it had been suspended for two years until the application was resumed when the road works were announced. 

The proposed roundabout would destroy arable land that has been worked for generations, as well as destroying a 500-year old reservoir that the farmers of the area rely on for water in the summer months. A fragile watercourse that supplies the water to the reservoir, as well as supplying water all the way down to Salini, is also in the path of destruction. The claim by Infrastructure Malta that the reservoir will not be destroyed is ridiculous since it is impossible to shift a 500-year old reservoir and its mechanism without destroying it.

The application for the supermarket on ODZ received widespread critisicm when the plans were announced. Nevertheless, it seems that Bonnici Brothers also have other plans for the area, with a Planning Control (PC) application that would allow for several residential blocks to be built in the same area if the permit goes through.

Bonnici Brothers have been identified in the media as regular contractors for Infrastructure Malta, receiving a total of €7,716,269.75 in contracts and direct orders in 2020 and 2021. Moviment Graffitti condemns the additional uptake of farmland and the use of taxpayers’ money to build a roundabout that is only there to serve the needs of Bonnici Brothers, as well as the use of ODZ land for a supermarket in an area which is already well served.

There are currently over 5,600 objections against the proposed roundabout, making it clear that people do not want or need these road works. Professionals have described the proposed roundabout as “senseless” since the new roundabout would be sandwiched between another dangerous roundabout, recently built on the same road, and the Burmarrad church. The St. Paul’s Bay Local Council has also come out against the road works and the application for the supermarket. Therefore, Moviment Graffitti expects Infrastructure Malta to immediately and definitively withdraw plans for the proposed roundabout, which is clearly aimed at servicing the Bonnici Brothers’ ODZ development. It also expects the PA Board to refuse the obscene application for the ODZ supermarket.

Should this rogue Government agency plough ahead with this grave injustice, framers and activists are ready to take direct action to stop this vicious onslaught on farmers and their lands, particularly in the light of similar land grabs in Dingli, Imrieħel, Luqa and other areas. Farmers from these localities were in fact also with us to show their solidarity with Burmarrad farmers.

Infrastructure Malta trid teqred raba’ u ġibjun storiku sabiex taqdi supermarket f’ODZ ta’ Bonnici Brothers

Il-grupp ta’ attivisti jikkundanna aktar telf ta’ art agrikola biex jinqeda l-kuntrattur ewlieni ta’  Infrastructure Malta

Bdiewa u attivisti indirizzaw Konferenza Stampa s-Sibt filgħodu f’Burmarrad, fuq il-post fejn art agrikola u ġibjun huma fil-periklu li jintilfu minħabba xogħlijiet fit-toroq proposti minn Infrastructure Malta.

Dawn ix-xogħlijiet jikkonsistu f’roundabout li se tinbena fejn il-kwartieri ta’ Bonnici Brothers, li għandhom ukoll applikazzjoni għal supermarket fuq art ODZ, biswit il-kwartieri tagħhom. L-applikazzjoni (PA 8024/18) kienet ġiet sottomessa fl-2018, imma kienet sospiża għal sentejn sħaħ u reġgħet ġiet attivata meta ġew imħabbra x-xogħlijiet fit-toroq.

Ir-roundabout proposta se tkun qed teqred art agrikola li ilha tinħadem għal ġenerazzjonijiet sħah kif ikoll ġibjun li għandu iktar minn 500 sena u li l-biewa tal-akkwati jiddependu minnu għall-ilma fix-xhur tas-sajf. Korsa fraġli tal-ilma li tipprovdi l-ilma lil dan il-gibjun, u li tibqa’ nieżla tas-Salini, tinsab ukoll mhedda. Id-dikjarazzjoni ta’ Infrastructure Malta li l-ġibjun mhux se jinqered hija redikola għax impossibbli ċċaqlaq ġibjun ta’ 500 sena flimkien mal-mekkaniżmu tiegħu mingħajr ma teqirdu.

L-applikazzjoni għal supermarket fuq art ODZ qalgħet ħafna kritika meta l-pjanijiet ġew imħabbra. Madankollu, jidher li Bonnici Brothers għandhom ukoll pjanijiet oħra għal dawn l-inħawi, b’applikazzjoni oħra għall-bini ta’ ħafna blokok residenzjali fl-istess żona.

Huwa magħruf mill-midja li Bonnici Brothers huma kuntratturi regolari ta’ Infrastructure Malta, li rċevew total ta’ €7,716,269.75 f’kuntratti u ordnijiet diretti fl-2020 u fl-2021. Il-Moviment Graffitti jikkundanna iktar teħid ta’ art agrikola u l-użu tat-taxxi tal-poplu sabiex tinbena roundabout li se tkun qed isservi biss il-bżonnijiet ta’ Bonnici Brothers, kif ukoll it-teħid ta’ art ODZ għal supermarket f’żona li diġà hija moqdija tajjeb.

Bħalissa hemm ‘il fuq minn 5,600 oġġezzjoni kontra din ir-roundabout proposta, li juru biċ-ċar li n-nies la jridu u lanqas għandhom bżonn dawn ix-xogħlijiet. Professjonisti ddeskrivew din ir-roundabout bħala xi ħaga li “ma tagħmilx sens” għaliex ser tkun imdeffsa bejn roundabout perikoluża oħra, li għadha kemm inbniet fl-istess triq, u l-knisja ta’ Burmarrad. Il-Kunsill Lokali ta’ San Pawl il-Baħar ukoll iddikjara ruħu kontra dawn ix-xogħlijiet u l-applikazzjoni għas-supermarket. Għalhekk, il-Moviment Graffitti jistenna li Infrastructure Malta tirtira minnufih u b’mod definittiv il-pjanijiet għal din ir-roundabout li hija, b’mod daqshekk ċar, intiża biss biex taqdi s-supermaket f’ODZ ta’ Bonnici. Nistennew ukoll li l-Bord tal-PA jirrifjuta l-applikazzjoni oxxena tas-supermarket f’ODZ.

Jekk din l-aġenzija diżonesta tal-Gvern se tibqa’ għaddejja b’din l-inġustizzja gravi, il-bdiewa u l-attivisti lesti li jieħdu azzjoni diretta sabiex iwaqqfu dan l-attakk kontinwu fuq il-bdiewa u l-artijiet tagħhom, speċjalment fil-kuntest ta’ ħtif simili ta’ art f’Ħad-Dingli, l-Imrieħel, Ħal-Luqa u nħawi oħra. Bdiewa minn dawn il-lokalitajiet fil-fatt ingħaqdu magħna wkoll sabiex juru s-solidarjetà tagħhom mal-bdiewa ta’ Burmarrad.