The government is making final preparations to make the first acquisitions of  private properties currently leased or used by band clubs that are under threat of eviction, the Culture Ministry said on Tuesday. 

It did not say which properties will be acquired first, and how much will be paid for them. 

The properties will be managed by the Arts Council Malta, which will be setting up a Band Clubs Acquisition and Management Unit 'to ensure that the interests of the social band clubs, as well as those of the government, are safeguarded in the long term'.

The unit will be under the direction of James Pearsall, a former official of the General Workers Union and more recently chairman of the Malta Council for Economic and Social Development. 

"The unit’s terms of reference shall ensure that the conditions provided in the agreed acquisition contracts and in the back-to-back contracts with social band clubs are observed, whilst supporting the relevant band clubs in their quest to safeguard and promote culture, music, and social inclusion," the ministry said. 

In June, Times of Malta reported that the government was in talks with the owners of 10 properties around Malta and Gozo as part of its efforts to avoid several towns and villages ending up without a band club.

The 10 were among 23 premises leased to band clubs that could fall under threat of eviction as a result of recent court rulings holding the old rent laws in breach of rights.

The government had said it intended to purchase the properties using funds from the golden passport scheme, through its investment holding company Malita Investments plc.

In January Times of Malta said some of the band clubs to be purchased by the government were in Valletta, Ħamrun, Paola, Żebbuġ, Sliema, Birkirkara and Mosta.