The Malta Independent on Sunday
S discriminatory and nked to Ian Borg
medieval Diar il-Bniet estate. But when Mifsud Local Enterprise inaugurated its project on 26 January 2014, the project only consisted of a restaurant and ‘farm shop’ on Dingli’s Main Street, opposite a public primary school, where, according to the Local Plan, it is not possible to conduct agro-tourism or to open a restaurant and where the notion of a ‘farm shop’ is unreasonable.
The Main Street premises were renamed “Diar il-Bniet.” Mr Ciantar states that there is no public evidence of the intended investments on the medieval estate, and no Mepa permits issued for those works in the scheduled ODZ property. An old “Diar il-Bniet” sign at the entrance of the estate was recently removed. A permit for the rehabilitation of the Main Street outlet was issued four months after the inauguration date, and the inauguration itself was advertised in the media on 19 and 20 January 2014, while the Mepa approved the rehabilitation days later, on 22 January 2014.
Mr Ciantar questions if Dr Borg and the Ramblers will call for public access to Diar il-Bniet.
‘Dingli Interpretation Centre’ becomes a restaurant on a ‘gigantic ‘agro-tourism’ project’
Turning to the ‘Dingli Interpretation Centre’, Mr Ciantar argues that his demand for investigations is justified because it was his withdrawal of his request for investigation into acts of Dr Borg in 2010 that permitted the Dingli council to benefit from €436,000 of EU agricultural funds which would have been lost if an investigation into Dr Borg’s acts was car- ried out.
Mr Ciantar also argues that had he not resisted Dr Borg’s attempts, EU agricultural funds intended to help rural farms and families like his own would have led to property being taken away from his family for the benefit of what is now a restaurant – about which Ciantar has made allegations of fraud and corruption with the authorities – adding that, since 2009, he has been deprived from becoming a full-time farmer on his property because his legal rights to the property have been threatened.
Mr Ciantar describes the ‘Dingli Interpretation Centre’ and its Dingli Heritage Trail as, “Effectively one gigantic ‘agrotourism’ project enclosing all Dingli territory and claiming heritage for their benefit, where the immediately measurable benefits, rather than accruing to the rural farmers and rural people, accrue to a panoramic restaurant run by a one-man company.”
Mr Ciantar asks the Ramblers what action they have taken about the alleged misappropriation of property at the ‘Dingli Interpretation Centre’.
Callus property is another property altogether
Mr Ciantar also rejected the claim that his property once belonged to Guzeppi Callus – a historic person. Mr Ciantar states that since 2002, research by Professor Stanley Fiorini was published in a book coordinated by Evarist Bartolo, now Minister for Education, showing that the Callus property is an altogether different property, and that he had published research to support Prof. Fiorini’s findings on 2 June 2012 in The Sunday Times, which has now been confirmed to him by Prof. Keith Buhagiar of the University of Malta.
Mr Ciantar asks if the Ramblers and Dr Borg will demand public access to the Callus property and what action Alex Vella of the Ramblers took as a member of the Mepa board to schedule that property.
Dr Borg urged to join request for investigations
Mr Ciantar says that he is not demanding public access into any else’s property, because “I respect privately held agricultural property, which in accordance with internationally accepted policy, is in the public interest, and I do not wish for others what I do not wish for myself and I am not vindictive.” However, he invited Dr Borg to join him in asking for independent investigations into his allegations about the ‘Dingli Interpretation Centre’ and the facts of the Measure 313 2nd Call scheme, with Mr Ciantar offering to make himself available as key witness.