Watch: ‘I’m Not Going Against The Party – Labour Is Going Against The People’, Gżira PL Mayor Says
Gżira Labour Mayor Conrad Borg Manche has outrightly said that he is not going against the party, but it is the party that’s going against the people.
This was said during a special live stream held between Borg Manche and Jon Mallia, following yesterday’s landmark refusal of the plans for a petrol station that was set to replace a public garden in Gżira.
“There were a lot of comments which claimed I was taking it against the party – I’m not the one taking it against the party, the party is going against the people,” Borg Manche said.
“What was I supposed to do? Keep my mouth shut and let everything roll by?”
“The social impact assessment had even resulted that around 82% of residents are against the development – all out,” he said.
“We need to be a government that’s there for the people – that’s why we’re there in the first place. So a fight like this, I couldn’t have done it, cause otherwise I would have been of a disservice.”
“The people elected me, so I serve the people,” he stated.
Later on in the live stream, Borg Manche also expressed his doubts on whether the Labour Party will allow him to contest in the next election.
Borg Manche was an instrumental voice against the proposed development which was set to rob Gżira residents of the final green lung in the area.
Yesterday, an appeals court confirmed the decision taken by the Tribunal to annul the Land Authority’s plan to relocate a petrol station to the public Independence Gardens in Gżira.
This came after the Gżira Local Council filed an appeal over the Lands Authority’s decision to transform a public garden into a petrol station, asking the courts to annul the decision.
Public use of the site was granted to the local council decades ago, with the Lands Authority then opting to revoke the lease and administration of the public garden.
The Lands Authority had notified the local council that it is revoking the lease of around 930 square metres of the current garden, one of the last remaining green areas in Gżira.
The council was therefore appealing the decision in front of the Administrative review tribunal, following several promises made by the Gżira mayor, that he will fight against the development tooth and nail.
Watch the full live stream here:
What do you make of Conrad Borg Manche’s latest statement?
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