Tourism Minister Konrad Mizzi said that former Nationalist Minister Jason Azzopardi had given “shameful” concessions to beach operators at Ghadira just eight days before the 2013 election.
In a comment on Facebook, the minister said that in the last two weeks he had been approached by a number of people who complained that the Ghadira sandy beach was “covered by umbrellas and sunbeds”, leaving little space to other bathers who did not want to make use of them.
“We investigated and discovered that in 2013, eight days before the election, former minister Jason Azzopardi gave a shameful concession to operators who could install as many umbrellas and deckchairs as they want on the country’s largest beach for 15 years”.
The beach is public, Mizzi said, and Maltese families have a right to enjoy it without encountering more expenses.
The minister committed himself to do his best to give back Ghadira bay to Maltese families without them having to pay.
In a reply, also on Facebook, Azzopardi did not deny that the concessions were given before the 2013 election, saying that “order” was brought about at Ghadira through work carried out by his ministry and that of his colleague Mario de Marco. At the time, Azzopardi was responsible for lands and de Marco had the tourism portfolio.
The arrangement was made for operators not to exceed certain limits and for a certain distance to be kept between one operator and another, Azzopardi said. He said that Ghadira was awarded the Blue Flag in 2012 because of the organisation established at the bay.
In his post, Azzopardi said that since 2013 the Labour government had allowed everyone to do what he or she likes at Ghadira. Now it has realised that it has a problem and wants to blame someone for it, Azzopardi said.
