Aquaculture funding dished out to band clubs in Parliamentary Secretary’s district

The aquaculture fund, set up for the express purpose of financing small projects to raise awareness of the importance of a healthy marine environment, was instead diverted to two band clubs in the electoral district of the Parliamentary Secretary responsible for those funds.

Parliamentary Secretary for Fisheries, Aquaculture, and Animal Rights Alicia Bugeja Said is going to contest the upcoming general elections in the third and twelfth districts.

The two band clubs, which were among the first awardees from this aquaculture fund, Għaqda Mużikali Beland in Żejtun and Għaqda Mużikali San Ġużepp in Ħal Għaxaq, are both located in the third district.

The two band clubs were the only non-environmental and non-educational organisations to benefit from the fund. The other awardees were MCAST, Nature Trust, Żibel, and the Coast is Clear Foundation, all of whom pitched projects which are directly related to the marine environment.

The government’s statement notes that a total of € 80,000 in funds was disbursed in this first round, with a maximum of €10,000 per project.

While it remains unclear what benefit taxpayers are expected to draw from the issuance of such funding to two band clubs with no relevant expertise on the marine environment, apart from the fact that they are from Bugeja Said’s constituency, a brief clip uploaded from the Parliamentary Secretary’s Facebook page suggests she has already benefited directly from this arrangement.

In December, Għaqda Mużikali Beland held a concert named ‘Symphony of the Sea’, featuring a performance by the band club, an art exhibition put up by over 100 students, educational visits to the Malta Aquaculture Research Centre and educational talks, and a keynote speech by Bugeja Said, which largely focused on how the event was made possible with the aquaculture fund.

In her speech, Bugeja Said had lavished praise on the band club, which diligently returned the favour through public posts thanking the Parliamentary Secretary for her support.

Meanwhile, over in Għaxaq, no publicly available information is available to suggest that Għaqda Mużikali San Ġużepp has delivered on its vague commitment to “educating our communities about the marine ecosystem, its biodiversity and the benefits that food derived from our seas have on our health”, which is what the project brief describes.

Additional questions have been sent to the Parliamentary Secretary and Għaqda Mużikali San Ġużepp. Those questions remained unanswered by publication time.