Government urged to table architects' valuations of properties

Members of the opposition kept up their insistence yesterday that the proposed new ground rent for the Casino Maltese in Valletta was too low at Lm3,000 annually, although they differed on the usefulness of the club for the country.

Labour MP Stefan Buontempo said the government needed to explain the criteria it used to arrive at the ground rents established for the Casino Maltese and other properties which were being similarly transferred. For example, why was the ground rent for the premises used by the UN International Institute on Aging fixed at just Lm1 per year?

Mr Evarist Bartolo (MLP) said the Casino Maltese should be bound to make the premises available for a number of cultural activities for the benefit of society in general, such as conferences and exhibitions, in the same way as sports associations which received government property were bound to make their facilities available on certain occasions.

The remarks were made during the continuation of the debate on the transfer of government properties on emphyteusis to the Casino Maltese, Birkirkara Tennis Club, Attard Boy Scouts, Attard Girl Guides, Atlam Sub Aqua Club and the UN International Institute on Aging.

Labour MP Jose' Herrera, who was the first speaker yesterday, spoke about the history of the Casino Maltese and the composition of its membership. He said this was a social club with 1,200 members being men and another 200 women who were associate members. Contrary to the general impression, the membership did not consist solely of lawyers and judges, but was made up of a wide cross section of society. Members of the clergy were not allowed to become members, the one exception having been Mgr E. Coleiro. Police officers were also excluded, which however was not the case for the police commissioner. As a rule most people applying for membership were accepted with the exception of three in the last year.

It had to be emphasised that this was not an elitist club. Anyone could join the Casino Maltese as long as certain criteria were met.

On the issue of discrimination by the club, Dr Herrera said that in the majority of clubs in Malta members are men with women only becoming associate members. In the Casino Maltese, women were granted certain advantages too. They did not pay a membership fee and if their father or husband died, they still enjoyed the right to be members. It was true that they were not allowed to enter certain rooms but it was also true to say that men were not allowed to enter certain other rooms.

Dr Herrera said the Casino Maltese had been visited by many prominent foreign people including British monarchs such as the present Queen when she was Princess, Elizabeth. This was the place where these dignitaries would meet Maltese dignitaries.

Dr Herrera said he did not agree that the club premises should revert to the government. The historic value of the building was not so relevant to the issue since the building was practically totally demolished in the war and then rebuilt.

The amount of Lm3,000 ground rent was prima facie insignificant. In 1909, a ground rent of £1,400 (Sterling) was charged, but that included other commercial premises. Although these premises were now not being included in the emphyteutical grant, it still seemed unreasonable to ask for Lm3,000 per annum, even though this had to be revised every so many years. This gave the impression that the government was giving away prime site property just because members of this club were prominent members of society.

Labour MP Anglu Farrugia said the Casino Maltese did not contribute to Malta's economy and was just a club which was closely linked to the Nationalist Party. No honorary membership was ever given to a Labourite. Should this club occupy such a prominent building in Valletta simply because it was established in the 1800s? Some of its former members were known to have had fascist connections before the war.

Charging a ground rent of Lm3,000 for such a property made no sense today. Although the ground rent was being more than doubled from the current £1,400 it still did not reflect the rise in the workers' wages in these 100 years.

Dr Bountempo said he had been a member of the Casino Maltese for 12 years and viewed it as having a role in society.

But he would strongly insist that all government ground rents should be fixed at reasonable levels. The government needed to explain what criteria it used. Indeed, this government had a reputation of giving away properties on emphyteusis for practically nothing. Yet, at the same time, the Housing Authority was continuing to impose unreasonable conditions on young couples who sought to acquire properties from it. At this rate, it would be better if the people working at the Land Department started working at the Housing Authority and vice-versa.

Fort Chambray and the casino in Vittoriosa were prime examples of properties given away cheaply, without any benefit for Maltese society. And how much would Malta gain by giving away the premises of the International Institute on Aging for Lm1 annually? Here again, why Lm1 not Lm2 or 50c? Could Malta continue giving away properties for nothing, under one pretext or another, as if it did not have financial problems?

The government should table the valuations established by its architects so that one could then see if the Nationalist Party had decided to reduce the ground rent for its own reasons.

Would the prime minister, or the minister, have given away the Casino Maltese for just Lm3,000 had it been their personal property? He did not think so. Although the Casino Maltese was a social club, this was a large three-storey building in the heart of Valletta which also had a commercial role, such as hosting wedding receptions. The club was being given away at the equivalent of Lm1 per square metre when a commercial property now attracted a rent of at least Lm30 per metre.

Mr Evarist Bartolo (MLP) said he agreed that the Casino Maltese should continue to use its current premises, but the contract conditions should not be as generous as those proposed by the government, given the value of the building.

He observed that sports clubs and other associations which received property from the government were bound to make those properties available for a number of activities to benefit society.

Clearly there should be a similar condition in the case of the Casino Maltese. The club should give back something to society by making the premises available for a number of cultural activities, such as concerts, exhibitions and seminars. This was not too much to ask. The club, after all, made the premises available for weddings.

Mr Bartolo referred to the ground rent for the International Institute on Aging, saying it made sense for buildings for such institutions to be offered at attractive rates as a way to attract them to Malta. Indeed, Malta should seek to house more such institutions. In line with its vocation of neutrality, Malta should work to attract institutions from both the EU and other regions, particularly those bodies whose activities were of relevance for every day life in Malta.

Mr Bartolo said the government needed to have a strategy for the proper use of the historic buildings it had in its possession.

Mr Carmelo Abela welcomed the transfer of government properties to sports associations but said he could not understand how there were so few, given the number of requests being considered by the Malta Sports Council.

He said care should be taken so that the properties transferred to sports associations did not become a burden, such as when the ground rents were too high.

He also urged the government to continue to promote Malta's attractions as a destination for underwater divers.