Zebbug deputy mayor Daniel Cordina (photo, left) said he has been threatened by the owner of a kiosk in Marsalforn after reports on substantial extension works being carried out next to the outlet, about which the locality’s administrative committee had been kept in the dark.
“You’ll regret this” (“Inqieghdek”) owner Victor ‘Ekxa’ Refalo (photo, right) told Mr Cordina in a brief confrontation in front of the latter’s home on Monday evening. A police report was filed against Mr Refalo – who is a former Labour Party councillor in the locality - and charges are expected to be pressed against him by the police.
The Malta Independent on Sunday reported that the Marsalforn administrative committee, which falls under the responsibility of the Zebbug local council, had been unaware of the development, which is not in accordance with the master plan for a project signed five years ago during the previous government.
Mr Cordina told The Malta Independent this morning that on Monday he was walking in Marsalforn with a member of the Marsalforn Administrative Committee when he realised he was being followed by Mr Refalo. The committee member quickly left and Mr Cordina went to his car to drive back home.
Mr Cordina said Mr Refalo followed him home “bumper-to-bumper” until Mr Cordina got to his driveway. At this point, after he exited the car, Mr Refalo threatened Mr Cordina (“Inqieghdek”). Mr Cordina replied by asking, “Can I help you, Vic?” at which point, the kiosk owner replied, “Don’t I have the right to stop here?” before driving off.
According to Mr Cordina, Mr Refalo’s behaviour is seemingly an escalation of events after he had received “dirty looks” from him in other instances they came across each other, in traffic or when Mr Cordina was dropping off his children to school.
In his comments to TMI, Mr Cordina said that he is not going to stop opposing the project as it’s being done right now, however he is afraid for his children and he hopes that pressing charges will stop the threats. He added that the people of Marsalforn are apparently all afraid of Mr Refalo.
Mr Cordina’s opposition to the project is mostly because of structural issues. In last year’s heavy storm, one of the main support columns of the entire road was very heavily damaged. It has since been condemned and declared unsafe. In spite of this danger, the project is being undertaken without the slightest attempt at first focusing on the structural integrity of the columns supporting the road, he said.
Zebbug mayor Nicky Saliba told The Malta Independent that Mr Cordina informed him about the incident yesterday evening. He strongly condemned Mr Refalo’s actions and he insisted that if he had any problems with anyone in the council, he should have come to the council and spoke to them rather than threatening a single member like he did.
“He shouldn’t have behaved the way he did. He could do it to any member of the council, even myself, and this is not the way to go about things”, the mayor concluded.
This newsroom spoke to a number of residents and restaurant and bar owners in Marsalforn, all of whom are furious about what is happening, since no one had informed them about the plans. They have also insisted that this change in the infrastructure has been made to “cater” for the interests of one person, the owner of the nearby kiosk.
Administrative committee kept in the dark