Former Gżira Mayor Conrad Borg Manché Explains Why He Didn’t Sign Manoel Island Petition
Over 29,000 people signed a petition calling for Manoel Island to be turned into a national park, but former Gżira mayor Conrad Borg Manché – who started the fight in the first place – was not one of them.
Borg Manché, now an independent Gżira councillor, confirmed with Lovin Malta that he didn’t sign the petition, pointing out that MIDI have a contract to develop the land that will cost several millions to scrap.
“I don’t think the government has so much money to build a park and it will probably end up handing the land over to another developer,” he said.
As for concerns raised by activists that MIDI are contractually bound to substantially complete the project by March 2026, Borg Manché pointed out that there are other provisions in the concession which could legally cater for an extension.
“It’s up to the courts to decide,” he said.
Borg Manché was the first person to flag the situation at Manoel Island after criticising MIDI for blocking off public access to the foreshore.
In 2016, he famously joined Moviment Graffitti activists as they broke through the gates that were preventing public access to the island.
Borg Manché then studied the contract and engaged in negotiations with MIDI to improve the original plans.
In 2018, the Gżira local council, lawyer Claire Bonello and MIDI set up a foundation to act as guardian for Manoel Island.
Borg Manché said in a recent Il-Każin debate that he secured a number of victories in these negotiations – such as ensuring the public has a right to access the foreshore, scrapping MIDI’s original plan to convert Fort Manoel into a boutique hotel, securing more open spaces, and establishing building height limitations to prevent the island from becoming “another Tigne”.
As part of the agreement, the signatories agreed to support MIDI’s application, to try and win the support of NGOs, and to not object to planning permits that were in line with the masterplan.
Borg Manché said that while he would like to see Manoel Island turned into a public park, in an ideal world, he couldn’t deny the existence of a contract that grants MIDI the right to develop it.
“I was born and raised in Gżira. As a three-year-old, I would swim at Manoel Island, and when I grew up a bit I would explore it.”
“When I saw the terms of the contract, I could have just insisted that it be developed into a public park come what may. I would have been praised but the public wouldn’t have gained anything from that stance because the developers would have just ignored me and done whatever they pleased.”
“I could have hidden the facts about the contract and I would have been perceived as a fighter who brought nothing. However, I read the contract and informed people of its existence.”
“God willing Manoel Island becomes the most beautiful place in the world, but if the developers have their rights, who am I to tell them to get out? If the contract gives them a right to develop, they will exercise that right.”
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