Prime Minister Joseph Muscat yesterday told Parliament that the permit to Safari Camping Club, which is responsible for caravans at Bahar ic-Caghaq, has been renewed with the same conditions as in the previous years. 

The only difference is that the permit applies from 15 May to 15 September, whereas in the past, this applied from 1 June till 30 September.

The permit was issued on 13 February, before the change in government.

Dr Muscat was giving the information in reply to a Parliamentary Question by PN MP Claudette Buttigieg. She also asked whether a government owned permanent structure was given to the club against payment or for free, the people responsible for cleaning the area, whether owners and the Bahar ic- Caghaq administrative committee were consulted about the zone, and whether an adequate drainage system has been installed.

Dr Muscat confirmed that the club was given a permit to occupy the permanent structure on site for the exclusive use of the club’s activities, against payment of €150 annually.

Regarding cleaning, Dr Muscat noted that according to an agreement signed between the government and the same organisation in June 2009, the organization was made responsible for keeping the area clean and for maintenance works.

He also pointed out that interventions by the Resources and Rural Affairs Ministry regarding drainage systems had in the past taken place. Dr Muscat therefore asked Mrs Buttigieg to make a question on the subject to the ministry concerned.

In 2009, the Safari Camping Club agreed to a set of conditions regulating the use of the temporary caravan site in Bahar ic- Caghaq after the illegal campsite was cleared at the end of summer 2008.

The Safari Camping Club is to issue a €12,000 bank guarantee and will pay a €50,000 encroachment fee for the period mentioned. The caravans at the site must be mobile and it must be ensured they can be driven away at short notice.