News • 02 March 2003

Lija mayor caught red-handed

By Matthew Vella

Lija Mayor Joseph Mary Mangion seems to have no qualms about taking the law into his hands. As these photos witness, Mangion is caught busy at work hacking at a carob tree in Triq il-Mahslut, a spot of pruning gone too far.

Reliable sources have told MaltaToday that Mangion sells wood for firewood.

Cutting branches of a carob tree contravenes the Trees and Woodland Protection Regulations 2001 in the Environment Protection Act, which stipulates that nobody can cut branches of carob trees without permission.

Mangion claimed he was acting upon a residents’ petition to cut the tree’s branches. But he shares little environmental erudition, saying the tree was doing harm to people’s health, since it was releasing carbon dioxide.

Complaining residents were however shocked to see their mayor calling on his acolyte to lift him up in a high-up truck as he reached for the branches of a carob tree. Residents said the carob tree had been a natural fixture in Triq il-Mahlut for decades.

Mangion told MaltaToday he did not have any official permit to go ahead with pruning, claiming "local councils do not need these type of permits." He also said he was aided by government workers responsible for the cutting of trees: "As Mayor, I also involve myself in menial jobs such as these and help the workers."

Mangion has been Lija Mayor ever since he was first elected to the local council in 1994. He first contested the Lija local council elections as an Independent candidate. In 1997 and 2000 however, he contested as a Nationalist Party candidate.

This year however, he was turned down by the Nationalist Party to contest the elections on the PN ticket. PN official Clyde Puli told MaltaToday Mangion was not considered to be a suitable candidate for the Nationalist Party team and was therefore not allowed to contest on the PN ticket.

Mangion, who this year will be contesting the local councils as an Independent candidate, told MaltaToday he was never given any valid reasons by the PN for not contesting: "I regret the minute I accepted to contest the elections in the name of that party."