PN MP Rebekah Borg has told the Lands Authority and Minister Silvio Schembri to do their jobs when it comes to the squatters occupying Fort Bingemma.

"Do you want everyone to do whatever they want?" Borg said in a Facebook post, with a photo of squatters in an illegally built pool at the historical site.

Last week, Schembri told The Malta Independent that he could not understand why there is so much insistence to remove squatters occupying historical sites.

Schembri said that efforts are being made to find the squatters who have been illegally occupying the fort for decades "alternative accommodation," before evicting them.

When pressed to say what other steps had been taken, the minister said that there were "other priorities".

Borg said that the Minister is upset with the pressure that is being put on him to take action on Fort Bingemma and those living there illegally.

She said that she has been asking about the matter for a while, also having been informed that there is an old woman staying at Fort Bingemma, and that they do not want "throw her out" without finding an alternative place.

 

"I can understand that, to a certain extent. However, do you know how long it is taking them to find a place for her? And the others who live there are hosting pool parties in an illegal pool until they find a place for her," Borg said.

She said that she has been asking in Board meetings with the Lands Authority, as well as in Parliament, on how long the entities have been trying to find an alternative place for the woman to live but received no answers.

"What I do know, is that they have been illegally occupying this Fort for years. Do your jobs!" Borg said.

To date, squatters owe an outstanding fine of €24,620 to the Planning Authority for illegal developments within the historical fort.

Schembri had said that he could not understand the insistence on evicting the squatters, saying that "nobody wants them out in the streets."