Who owns the beaches?

We have been discussing this issue for years now but, so far, we never got anywhere, at least not yet. Indeed, after all these years, we have nothing which may perhaps remotely suggest that we are getting anywhere. On September 7 we carried a message from Piero Selvaggi from which I quote some highly relevant excerpts:

"This problem has become a chronic one and has been tolerated far too long. Unless all beachgoers take a stand on this matter, things will get worse until the day when it will be too late to go back ...

"What I find very strange is that no beach concession owner or anyone from the authorities has had the dignity to reply to our complaints.

"It seems that the authorities do not want to take any stand on this matter...

Well, to be fair, we have now received a reply from one of the beach concession owners:

With reference to your article of September 7 "Who owns the beaches?", we (San Remo Restaurants) have a concession at Ghadira along with three other permanent property owners. We pay a yearly rent to the Lands Department and a licence to the Malta Tourism Authority.

All concessions in Ghadira measure 30.47 by 12.19 metres. This is ours by right and we may enclose this site: "The grantees shall enclose the site with a rope or wind breaker barrier. The design and material of this enclosure shall be subject to approval by the Commissioner of Land".

Kiosks which rent sunbeds and umbrellas fall under a different licence but have no defined area. Tourist demand in summer exceeds what the beach can take in area. In Europe beaches are kept clean to obtain a "blue flag" but in Malta we have to cope with rubbish from barbecues, human excrement, and untreated sewage dumped into the sea.

We have to decide whether we are ready to greet tourists with proper facilities. For those who say that we are just money-grubbing, let me tell you that we have been in business on this beach for 33 years and our prices for the rental of deckchairs remained unchanged at 25c until two years ago and from this we pay 15% VAT. (Marie Wigg)

Mrs Wigg has highlighted some very valid points which the authorities ought to take note of. As far as the police are concerned, on September 3, I sent a printout of Mr Selvaggi's message to Inspector Piju Pisani (Mellieha police station) and Inspector Joe Mercieca (Mgarr police station) for their comments on the issue with a particular focus on what action the police intend to take.

I was hoping to include their comments on September 14. However, I have not had any response from the police. My question is: who cares? Indeed, while bearing in mind that this issue is directly related to one of the ingredients which make our country the tourist attraction that it is, I ask: Is there a competent authority willing and able to sort out this issue once and for all?

We need at least some assurance from a competent authority that something is being done. We need an area specially set aside for the use of people not hiring sunbeds. We need wardens on the beach to control both the running of the beach as well as litter and security of personnel effects.

Yet again I hope and trust that the relevant authorities will take action. In this spirit, we look forward to hearing from them.