PN Whip Robert Cutajar has said that plans by the Lands Authority to lease out land in Mellieha for beekeeping has raised questions and doubts.

The issue surrounds a lease by the Lands Authority of an agricultural site located outside the development zone in Mellieha to set up a bee keeping facility. The tender would lease the land for 15 years and tenders are to be accompanied by a Bid-Bond for an amount of €27,000 as stipulated in the tender conditions. Offers below the amount of €9,000 per annum will not be considered.

This particular case rightly raised many questions and doubts over how logical or genuine the reason for the Authority to have issued this call, Cutajar said. "Beekeepers who I spoke with found it very strange how this particular zone will be used for beekeeping. There are a number of reasons, including that it is near a zone that is residential, with a road next to it, which does not make the place suitable for beekeeping."

He said that the price mentioned in the tender for the rent of the land where, whoever tries to take the land, complicit with the Lands Authority, would need to have hundreds of boxes which would house millions of bees to cover the costs, "and this seems to be impossible."

"Over the past years under a Labour Government, we have passed through experiences where zones nobody thought could be developed ended up as part of the concrete jungle, with permission from the government or entities that fall under it. And so it is with reason that this step by the authorities raises doubts and major suspicions regarding the true intentions of whoever dreamed this up."

"We have government authorities whose order of the day is to continue insulting the people's intelligence. It seems that there are people in the authorities who have not yet learnt from the atrocities that we have lived through these past years that resulted in theft of public land and environmental damage simply to facilitate things for a few people."

Cutajar had filed a petition, in the name of residents who live in the Mellieha heights area to stop the processing of the tender.

PN candidate Ivan Castillo had also highlighted the issue.

"Bee cultivation is good...I do not believe this is the ideal place for such a massive project, I hope this is not a way to see this protected piece of land in Triq L-Gherien be developed by someone who has no real intention to cultivating bees. No studies have been carried out to see what the impact will have on the surrounding residents? And others who frequent the area!"

"There are so many NGO's such as Malta Beekeepers Association, who should be assisted in less problematic areas such a as Qammieh / Mizieb and Ahrax definitely would do an excellent job and ensure everything is done correctly, to cultivate bee's and improve our biodiversity rather than someone who may not have any intention of beekeeping! And why here? I appeal to Lands Department to reconsider this application which is of a commercial nature and will negatively effect the residents and seek alternatives and ensure the ultimate aim to improve bee cultivation is reached, and help more NGO's who definitely do not have alternative agendas!"