Gozitan NGOs, Moviment Graffitti want Fort Chambray to be returned to the people

Today, three Gozitan NGOs - Għawdix, Din l-Art Ħelwa - Għawdex, and Wirt Għawdex - together with Moviment Graffitti stormed Fort Chambray as they carried out a direct action to call for the Fort's return to the public.In

By: independent.com.mt

Nov 09 2024
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Gozitan NGOs, Moviment Graffi

In a statement, the NGOs said activists entered the Fort to shed light on the injustice that after over 30 years of failed concessions to private interests, Fort Chambray is still closed to the public. The activists stressed that not only are the people being deprived of the enjoyment of this historical site, but the Government has failed to fulfil its promises, leaving Fort Chambray to rot, and has now handed it over again to a new group of developers for it to be developed into a massive cheap aparthotel and blocks of apartments.

The latest plans presented for the third phase of Fort Chambray's development are proposing the demolition of the historical barracks and the construction of an aparthotel with 64 rooms and 50 serviced apartments, 105 residential units, and two levels of underground parking with 319 garages. The British barracks, despite many requests from the Gozitan organisations for their scheduling, will be partially dismantled and demolished to accommodate the development, the activists said. The Knights' Barracks will be turned into retail outlets, restaurants and other facilities. The Knights' Polverista, a historic and unique architectural structure, will be transformed into a bar, while the Naval Bakery is set to become a clubhouse.

During the direct action, the activists explained how even though the original concessionaire Michael Caruana "il-Billi" failed to meet the targets set in the 2004 concession, the Government, despite having the option of taking back the historical Fort and public land, failed to do so and chose to sit idly for years on a project that was long overdue.

Last June, the Government and the Opposition voted in favour of a Parliamentary resolution to allow Caruana to transfer the Fort's concession to a group of developers known to support both parties financially.

Caruana will be raking in millions from this transfer of public land, while the people will get nothing. Not only will the people not get a cent from the transfer, but the public will also be providing the funds for the restoration and eventual maintenance works on the Fortifications from taxpayers' money. The Gozitan NGOs and Moviment Graffitti stressed that despite false statements by certain politicians, it is clear that according to the last agreement, the Government will be fully responsible for the repair and restorations works on the Fortifications, as well as the consolidation of the terrain underlying the Fort to strengthen and secure the Fortifications. This essentially means that the people have been deprived of the right to enjoy their historical heritage, and will be also paying for the restoration of the dilapidated Fort for the developers to make huge profits out of it, the statement said.

The activists also stressed that despite clear stipulations for public access outlined in the 2004 and 2024 agreements, the gates of Fort Chambray remain closed to the public due to repeated failures in the concessions to private investors. Now that the Government is set on letting our heritage be destroyed and transformed into a residential complex to appease developers' greed, the public will once and for all lose the right to enjoy this site.

Today's direct action ended with the activists hanging a banner with the message "Fort Chambray Belongs to the People" over the bastions to stress that the blatant disregard for our heritage, its privatisation and destruction at the hands of developers is unacceptable.

The potential for Fort Chambray to be regenerated into a site that would celebrate our heritage and serve the community, such as a museum, or a cultural, artistic or educational hub cannot be ignored. The Government must seize the opportunity to breathe life back into the Fort and find a more sustainable use that would enrich Gozo's cultural landscape and become a cherished destination for tourists and locals.

The organisations insisted that the time for hollow promises that speak of sustainability and the preservation of Gozo's features is over. The unwillingness of the Government to change direction, and the complicity of the Opposition in all this, serves only to confirm that our country's political system is beholden to strong interests that are working against the people.