Gozo Day

For several years now, October 28 has annually been officially celebrated as Gozo Day in commemoration of the French garrison’s capitulation in 1798.

It is a documented fact that archpriest Saverio Cassar, superintendent of Gozo during and after the Gozitan uprising against the French, issued pensions to four widows - Ġanna Mizzi, Marija Grima, Marija Calleja and  Roża Saliba - whose husbands had lost their lives in the uprising.

A fifth victim must have been unmarried or a widower.

Gozo Day is marked today. Photo: Shutterstock.com

In an effort to lead by example and induce Gozitans to shake off their apathy and lack of recognition of their compatriots, it is high time the Gozo Regional Council sponsors research to bring to light the actual names of these heroes and erects a memorial in their remembrance... in these days when dulce et decorum est pro patria mori has been buried under the ubiquitous heap of construction money.

Joseph Psaila – Victoria

Sliema balconies

Reference is made to the article ‘Studies on dangerous Sliema balconies wrapped up, works in coming weeks’ (October 25).

It is to be stated that although the permit granted by the Planning Authority for the removal of dangerous balconies and replacement of same balconies dates back to February 3, 2018, it was only on October 12 of this year that the perit responsible for the project submitted a commencement notice and a declaration in terms of regulation 4 of SL 623.06, which declaration is for use when works do not affect third parties.

In the following days, and after a detailed review of the applicant’s submissions, the Building and Construction Authority informed the applicant that the request based on regulation 4 cannot be entertained.

Since the perit of the project disagreed with the decision taken by the BCA, the BCA senior official discussed further in writing and even in person providing a detailed explanation as to why the declaration cannot be acceded to.

The BCA official explained that every owner and/or tenant of the apartments and the underlying commercial outlets are considered as third parties to each other.

The perit of the project persisted with his line of thought, however BCA responded on October 21 stating that it may favourably consider a declaration in terms of regulation 26 of SL 623.06, which declaration requests the signature of all the owners of the apartments and the owners/operators of the underlying commercial outlets, confirming that they have no objection for such works to be carried out and that they are aware of the implications of such a declaration.

To date, no further feedback was received with the result that clearance cannot be processed.

Jonathan Barbara – Senior head, Building and Construction Authority – Floriana