PN MP Jason Azzopardi today asked the government during a parliamentary session why the Department of Lands hasn’t been asked to find an adequate place where bands may rehearse.

Justice Minister Owen Bonnici, who is fond of music as well, said that it is good that the Department of Lands is roped in but it is also vital a person with a sense of creativity is put at the forefront.

Singer William Mangion had been appointed to find a garage for bands to rehearse in but to date no place has been identified.

Dr Bonnici said that the person contracted to find an adequate place has made it in the area of music and therefore it was pertinent to appoint him to do the job, referring to Mr Mangion.

Dr Bonnici said that a data base has been compiled comprising of local rock band artists, the idea being to expose the talent of rock on our islands.

In November, Mr Mangion told The Malta Independent that quite a few bands had spoken to him asking for a place to rehearse but nothing had materialized.

Last year, Mr Mangion accepted a government-offered one-year contract as a coordinator for promoting local bands. One of his responsibilities is to identify places where bands can rehearse.

When contacted by this paper at the time, Mr Mangion had said that there were quite a few requests but the government is still in the process of identifying suitable places and drafting a general framework.

The former Eurovision singer had said that these things “take time” and he was only given the contract four months prior (that is in July 2013). Furthermore, he had said that the government had only just confirmed the budget for the scheme. In his budget speech Finance Minister Edward Scicluna had announced a new €150,000 fund to support local bands.