Planning Minister inaugurates unfinished ground and illegal clubhouse

A new football ground in Qala inaugurated with great pomp by Planning and Gozo Minister Clint Camilleri a few days before June’s MEP and local council elections, is actually half-finished and inundated with planning irregularities.

Minister Camilleri threw a party, costing taxpayers thousands, inviting voters to attend the official inauguration of the “state-of-the-art” investment in Gozitan sports. Yet it was a half-baked project despite already costing the public €400,000.

The President of the Qala Saints Football Club, Noel Mizzi, also doubles as the Minister’s official driver and manages the facility. He has now applied to sanction most of the works carried beneath the ground, forming part of the clubhouse.

Most of the work was not carried out according to approved plans, while other structures were inserted without the necessary green light from the Planning Authority.

“It’s a pity that the Gozo Minister only sees such projects as another source of votes. The ground should have spectator stands, and that is what we were promised. However, Clint Camilleri was in too much of a hurry,” a member of the Qala Saints football club committee told The Shift.

Research by The Shift shows that in 2016, when Minister Camilleri was Qala Mayor, he applied for the refurbishment of the football facilities, including building a large stand and other training facilities.

For some reason, this was not built even though the rock was excavated for construction.

Also, the clubhouse underneath the ground wasn’t built according to the plans submitted by Camilleri.

At its inauguration, the clubhouse was still in shell form and did not even have windows or doors, according to committee members.

Minister Camilleri, who earlier this year was given the Planning Authority portfolio by Prime Minister Robert Abela, is considered in political circles to be one of the most parochial cabinet members. He frequently engages in votes-for-favours, trying to outdo his political rivals from Gozo, Labour cabinet members Anton Refalo and Jo Etienne Abela.

The Shift is informed that just a few months ago, Camilleri was also personally involved in helping the prime minister negotiate the acquisition of ODZ land next to his farmhouse in Xewkija. Robert Abela and his wife, Lydia, are now developing the farmhouse into a boutique hotel.