[WATCH] ‘No government will take our lands’ – Maghtab farmers stage sit-in

Updated | Prime Minister Robert Abela speaks to farmers staging sit-in outside Maghtab in protest at government take-over of land • Environment minister Aaron Farrugia reacts

Farmers whose livelihoods depend on their Magħtab fields have filed a judicial protest against a proposed Wasteserv facility extension
Farmers whose livelihoods depend on their Magħtab fields have filed a judicial protest against a proposed Wasteserv facility extension

Twenty-five farmers and families whose livelihoods depend on fields in the Magħtab area have staged a sit-in outside the Wasteserv waste disposal facility at Maghtab in protest at government plans to take over their lands.

Earlier this week they filed a judicial protest before the First Hall of the Civil Court aiming at safeguarding their fields from a proposed Wasteserv expansion project.

The farmers are saying that there is a threat that the government would seize their fields after the publication of a legal notice advising that around 226 tumoli of fields would be needed to expand the site.

This, they said, would breach their property and human rights. The protest also states that the current facilities are not in conformity with the law.

But in a reaction on Facebook, environment minister Aaron Farrugia said he was obliged to give the country a holistic plan on waste management and that these plans were necessary.

“I understand the farmers’ anger and I give them my solidarity. I know no compensation will quell this anger, because behind every farmer is a family and their livelihood.

“We cannot stay as we are. If we don’t take action now, the consequences on our environment and the land around Maghtab will be far bigger. Without the necessary waste plants and a culture-change, agricultural land will keep on being decimated to the cost of generations to come.

“I am finalising the plans the country needs together with experts from the European Commission and at the highest international standards. We will have individual meetings with farmers, residents, local councils, environmental NGOs and any interested party.

“I take these decisions with responsibility, sadness, but also with determination and courage. This is what the country needs in the common interest.”

READ ALSO | NGOs condemn Maghtab extension, say sacrifice of arable land is 'obscene'

The protest, filed by lawyers Franco Debono, Amadeus Cachia and Claire Bonello against Environment minister Aaron Farrugia and Wasteserv Malta, holds the authorities responsible in damages if the plan goes ahead.

Meanwhile, a number of residents and property owners have also filed a separate judicial protest against the proposed expansion today.

The 20 plaintiffs, represented by lawyer Marco Ciliberti, also warned the government off any attempt at forcibly taking their immovable property to make space for the project.

Prime Minister meets farmers

Prime Minister Robert Abela met with the farmers who were staging the sit-in.

The PM was shown around the fields, and promised to formally meet the farmers on Monday.

During the sit-in protest, the farmers had lamented how politicians were overlooking them when taking decisions.

“All they care about is their pockets, all of them,” one farmer said.