The Office of the Ombudsman has slammed the Lands Authority for “yet another clear case of lack of cooperation” during an investigation into the lack of markings for outdoor catering areas intended to control and eliminate incursions onto public spaces.
The report highlighted that the authority “again does not even collaborate with the Ombudsman institution in finding a proper way forward to enhance its administrative role”.
This was particularly so on “similar recurrent and sensitive issues, where commercial interests are mushrooming everywhere, reaching uncontrollable levels,” said Alan Saliba, Commissioner for Environment and Planning at the Office of the Ombudsman.
What is the issue about?
Lawyer Claire Bonello had filed a complaint on behalf of her clients Monica Wittkemper and Annamaria Baldacchino last August. It referred to “constant further incursions on the public road and/or pavement from establishments with structures for tables and chairs”.
An investigation with the Lands Authority, as the responsible regulator, was opened in August and the Office of the Ombudsman issued its final opinion last week.
According to the policy on outdoor catering areas in public open spaces, the fixing of steel markers must be carried out by contractors appointed by the permitting authorities and the related costs borne by the applicant, the report pointed out.
The authority was asked to inform the ombudsman about what was being done to implement this policy to the full.
Not a single state entity replied
The Malta Tourism Authority, the Planning Authority (PA) and Transport Malta were also asked to submit any comments to “find the right way forward and improve the state of affairs”.
But no reply from any of these government authorities was forthcoming, the ombudsman said, calling it yet another clear case of lack of cooperation.
The report also aimed fire at the PA’s “complete and utter disregard” of the policy clause in question, which lays down the need to set markings in “very specific visible fashion” – namely by steel plates flush with the surface they are being applied to. As the administrator of public land, the Lands Authority was bound to see to the establishment of boundaries, defining the areas being transferred, the report said.
In the case of concessions for outdoor catering areas, this was even more important because it would reduce abuse and obstructions to everyday use of footpaths by pedestrians.
Control by the various authorities would be made easier and more efficient and disputes concerning adjoining concessions would be eliminated while unjustified complaints about incursions on public land would be avoided, the report continued.
The Ombudsman’s Office recommended that Lands formulate rules and procedures for the fixing of markers defining all concessions for outdoor catering areas.
Bonello, who specialises in planning issues, said she noticed “there is not a single marker anywhere”.
She filed the complaint also in relation to the case of an illegal outside catering establishment at The Strand, in Sliema, which she claimed would have been avoided had there been the markers.
“This is another example of the authorities blatantly refusing to respect the law,” the lawyer said. “This institutional inertia seems to be intentional to aid and abet contravenors,” Bonello charged.
Examples of outdoor catering establishments that have flouted the law are plenty, with kiosks taking over the promenades. The latest case is of the Gourmet Cocktail Bar and Grill, which has been without a permit for at least nine years. The bar is currently owned by developer and Malta Developers Association president Michael Stivala.