Gozo Minister Clint Camilleri has told The Malta Independent on Sunday that he is against any form of development in the Ħondoq ir-Rummien area, noting that he and the Labour Party are committed to protecting both this zone and Qala’s natural environment as a whole.

Camilleri however stopped short of stating whether he thought that the area should be changed back to an Outside Development Zone (ODZ) and whether he would bring this up at Cabinet level.

Camilleri was answering questions posed by this newsroom on the status of the Ħondoq ir-Rummien area, which remains under the threat of development, amidst a campaign fronted by Qala’s mayor Paul Buttigieg to get the area changed back to an Outside Development Zone.

“As a Labour Party MP, I am against development in the Ħondoq ir-Rummien zone – this is consistent with the Labour Party electoral manifesto, including the most recent local council election in 2019”, Camilleri told this newsroom.

He was asked for his views on the campaign to change Ħondoq ir-Rummien’s status, whether he believes that the area should once again become ODZ, and, if so, whether he would bring the issue up at Cabinet level to enable it to happen.

“As the Labour Party, [in the 2019 local council elections] we re-emphasised our belief that we will remain committed to safeguarding the natural environment of the Qala locality, particularly Ħondoq ir-Rummien bay and its surroundings”, Camilleri said.

“It’s good to remember that it was a Nationalist government which decided to include the possibility of a touristic development in the area, meaning that the zone did not remain exclusively ODZ”, he added.

Indeed, the bulk of Ħondoq ir-Rummien – all of the area save for the bay itself and the quay where barbeques are allowed – is privately owned, with the island passing into the hands of developers Victor Bajada and Joe Cassar in 2002.

In that same year, they fronted a proposal to transform the area through a massive project which would have seen the construction of a port and yacht marina along with a luxury village consisting of a 195-bedroom hotel, 300 apartments, and a host of other ancillary facilities.

The status of the land was then changed in 2006 from being ODZ and earmarked for potential afforestation to an area where “tourism and marine-related development” may be permitted. This was done when the then-Nationalist government changed the country’s local plans.

The development was eventually refused by the Planning Authority in 2016, but an appeal against the refusal is still ongoing, and was deferred for a site inspection in October 2020.

“While I am against any development in this area, responsibility demands that when promises, like those of the Opposition leader, are made, they are carefully studied – unless there aren’t any ulterior motives”, Camilleri said.

In naming the Opposition leader’s promises, Camilleri is referring to a pledge by the Nationalist Party, first reported by The Malta Independent, that a Nationalist government would buy Ħondoq ir-Rummien back from its current owners and transform it into a national park in order to return it to the people.

The PN revealed the plans after being sent the same set of questions which this newsroom sent to Camilleri.

The proposal garnered praise, particularly from Qala’s minority (PN) local council members, but Labour media has criticised PN leader Bernard Grech for making such a promise without any apparent idea of any of the associated costs.

Government figures have so far been more cautious on their words when asked about the Ħondoq ir-Rummien area.

Camilleri, in stating that he is against all form of development in the area, has been the most unequivocal out of his colleagues.

Environment Minister Aaron Farrugia, quizzed by this newsroom on the matter earlier this week, was non-committal, although he noted that all proposed development in the area so far has been refused.

He said that he respects the Qala mayor [Paul Buttigieg] who has worked hard to protect the area and looks forward to hearing a public discourse on what should be done to the area.

“I look forward to these subjects being discussed more in our country, not only in Ħondoq”, he said. “There are diverse zones that the country should continue looking towards because the Maltese and Gozitan population are saying that we need more recreational zones now and in the future”, he added.

Prime Minister Robert Abela meanwhile would not be drawn into commenting on Ħondoq ir-Rummien in particular when he was speaking to journalists earlier in the week, choosing instead to focus more on the general issue surrounding the country’s local plans.

To this, he reminded that these were changed in 2006 by a PN administration and that the government has its “hands tied”, noting that there are also complications of a legal nature if one simply changes the status of the area.