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James Debono
An outstanding rent bill of Lm109,965, owed by the owners of Sliema’s Jumbo Lido to the Lands Departments, was written off by the government despite winning a court case against VAB Company Ltd, the owners of the now-demolished Jumbo Lido.
The company directors, Frank Fenech and his son Peter, a PN activist and the politically appointed chairman of the Mediterranean Conference Centre, had their outstanding rent written off after letting the Jumbo Lido monolith on the Tigné seafront in Sliema fall into disrepair.
Days before its demolition turned into a media spectacle, the Jumbo Lido’s Lm109,965 rent bill was written off by government. The operators had last paid rent on this site in 1997.
Peter Fenech was also Louis Galea’s spokesperson during a Xarabank debate on the eve of the PN’s leadership contest, pushing forward Galea’s bid for the party helm.
Fenech has refused to comment on the agreement government reached with his company on the rent bill, which included the relinquishing of the tenancy of the place. Describing talks with the government as “private negotiations”, Fenech refused to state who had been present during these negotiations.
His father Frank told MaltaToday the deal was “none of your business”. For years a derelict eyesore on the Tigné coast, the demolition of the Jumbo Lido cost government Lm4,900, without a single cent being contributed by the company itself. The demolition was carried out by the Works Division and will be billed to the Malta Tourism Authority.
The Home Affairs Ministry confirmed it had accepted “the company’s offer” to waive off the ground rent by relinquishing the deed for the land, which had been granted for 25 years back in 1989, at a yearly ground rent of Lm9,600 to be used as a catering establishment.
Subsequently MaltaToday asked the lands department whether, during the past ten years, it has ever written off pending ground rents in any other case apart from the Jumbo Lido. No reply has been forthcoming.
The land has now been returned to government nine years before the termination of the lease, because the company had no other assets from where to pay their rent to the Lands Department, the home affairs ministry said. According to the Lands Department, the operators of the Jumbo Lido have only paid Lm45,300 in rents since they acquired the site in 1989.
“Government was concerned that the structure constituted an eyesore,” the ministry added.
The rescission of the deed was concluded on 3 October, and the structure pulled down some weeks later. The Times had reported the agreement reached between the Lands and the Jumbo Lido operators was reached following “insistence by the Ministry for the Environment and Rural Affairs”.
Environment Minister George Pullicino had remarked the building’s removal was long overdue “but legal issues had to be resolved before the government could intervene.” But Pullicino refused to answer questions on the deal reached by the government and Frank Fenech. A spokesperson said the matter does not fall under his competence.
Qui-Si-Sana residents, speaking to MaltaToday insisted the demolition of the Jumbo Lido was an orchestrated move to distract attention from the ongoing controversy on the proposed car-park and leisure park in the area.
The Jumbo Lido was given planning permission in 1989. Some years later it changed its set up to become the Deniz Restaurant and Cafeteria, a Turkish restaurant, but for the past five years the owners have let it fall into a state of disrepair.
The building attracted drug users by night and was quickly turning into an insect infested hellhole. On 28 January 2003, the developers applied for a MEPA permit to rebuild the site but the application was turned down.
jdebono@mediatoday.com.mt |
