The Speaker of the House Carmelo Abela has ruled that a report published by The Maltese Herald incorrectly linked Minister for Accommodation and Lands Owen Bonnici's remarks about superyacht facilities to Marsascala, clarifying that the minister had not mentioned the locality in connection with the plans.
The ruling followed a request for the Speaker to review what was said during a parliamentary sitting, after The Maltese Herald published an article on 8 October claiming that Bonnici had mentioned Marsascala while discussing the government's plans to introduce more berthing facilities for superyachts and related services.
The Speaker clarified that Bonnici had referred to Marsascala in the context of mooring facilities in the locality, but had not mentioned the town when speaking about superyachts.
The ruling distinguished between the two separate issues and stated that the report should be corrected.
The Speaker reiterated the importance of accuracy in reporting, stressing that information should be checked before publication and that a distinction must be maintained between criticism and factual reporting. The ruling is to be sent to The Maltese Herald so that the necessary corrections can be made.
The issue arose following an article published by The Maltese Herald on 8 October, headlined "Transport Minister denies government will install yacht marina in Marsascala".
The report stated that Transport Minister Chris Bonett had denied that the government planned to install a yacht marina in Marsascala. It also claimed that Bonnici had mentioned the locality during a parliamentary discussion on the government's plans to expand superyacht berthing facilities and related services.
Bonett's denial followed the parliamentary discussion, while the Speaker's ruling subsequently clarified that Bonnici had not linked Marsascala to the superyacht plans.
The Maltese Herald's article also referred to separate mooring facilities being built by Transport Malta in Marsascala for a passenger ferry, a project which has faced opposition from residents in the area.
The ruling clarified that Bonnici's reference to Marsascala concerned the passenger ferry mooring facilities and not the government's plans for superyachts.