Environment Minister says places like Miżieb, Aħrax should be fully accessible to the public

Environment Minister, Miriam Dalli, stated that she is of the opinion that parks such as the Mizieb area and L-Aħrax should be accessible in full for the public.

This week, the court annulled an agreement signed by the Lands Authority and FKNK in late 2020. This agreement gave the rights to FKNK over the recreational lands of Miżieb and L-Aħrax.

The agreement also prohibited public access to a couple of picnic areas, as due to preference being given to hunters on the total 1.5 million square metres of land.

The reason given by the courts was that the fact that the agreement was not available to the public, and no press was invited to the signing over of public land. The court added that there are certain rules when it comes to the transfer of public land, “in order for accountability and transparency to be there.”

Various NGOs such as BirdLife Malta, Moviment Graffitti, Din L-Art Ħelwa, Friends of Earth Malta and Prof. Edward Mallia took the Lands Authority to court, which resulted in the agreement being annulled.

The ministers present for the signing were then Transport Minister, Ian Borg, then Environment Minister, Aaron Farrugia, Gozo Minister, Clint Camilleri and Parliamentary Secretary for Planning and Construction, Chris Agius.

Speaking to journalists on Friday, Dalli said that the government still has to see what the outcome of the courts would be, in order for a way forward to be planned. “In order to move forward, we are analysing the sentence but we believe that all areas which are public land should allow public access at all times.”

“I am of the opinion that all parks and areas have to be accessible by everyone. There are a number of guardianship deals across Malta, and it is the duty of the government to make sure that the areas are being taken care of in accordance to the law. The most important thing though is that public access is always maintained.”