Sprawling Marsaxlokk market in chaos, dithering on location decision

In spite of the revelry of Carnival in Valletta, the open-air market in Marsaxlokk was awash with visitors and Maltese, some looking for bargains, others just stall shopping.

The market sprawls all along Xatt is-Sajjieda with about 300 hawkers displaying their wares.

While shoppers can find anything from clothing to fish, shoes, souvenirs, fruit and vegetables to house wares, the scenario is pretty chaotic.

There have repeatedly been suggestions by the authorities to move the market to another site but nothing has changed so far.

So what do the hawkers think of the situation?

Simon Camilleri, who sells T-shirts promoting Malta as a holiday isle, said there was definitely room for improvement.

He is against the market being moved elsewhere - it has established itself so well that it is promoted as a tourist attraction, he argued.

"What is needed is that the stall area should be marked out and the passage way for shoppers should be wider, making for more comfortable shopping.

"As things stand now, there are hawkers who occupy five feet along the waterfront while others have the luxury of 50 feet".

Mr Camilleri holds two permits, one costing Lm50 a year as a fixed hawker at Marsaxlokk on Sunday and another costing Lm30 as a fixed hawker between Monday and Saturday. He also pays a contribution of Lm30 to the Malta Tourism Authority.

To the proposal that the market be moved up the road leading to the power station, Mr Camilleri said the road is on a slope.

"How would wheel-chair bound persons and those with push chairs be able to make it up the hill?" he asked, not unreasonably.

Emmanuel Grech sells souvenirs. He said business at the market was seasonal, with a boost from Carnival till May, picking up again between September and mid-November and between Christmas and the New Year.

"The waterfront should be pedestrianised on Sundays, except for disabled drivers, to avoid congestion - as is done on the feast of St Gregory," Mr Grech said.

Tarcisio Formosa, who together with his brothers Twanny and Joseph sells sweets and confectionery items, said it would be hard to say how business would fare if the market were shifted.

The Formosas own their own bakery in Qormi and have been selling in open-air markets for the past 40 years. The permit they have, costing Lm40 annually, gives them the right to hawk at the main open air markets.

"The thing to consider would be how attractive the new site would be to visitors," Tarcisio said.

A hawker who preferred not to be named said that if the market were moved elsewhere, the shops by the waterfront would suffer a loss of business.

"People flock to Marsaxlokk for the market and this brings business to this side of the island.

"Even in windy weather the hawkers with their backs to the sea set up plastic breakers. If the market were moved to the road leading to the power station the Majjistral, north westerly would blow us away," the hawker argued.