| THE AX HOLDINGS GOLF COURSE REPORT By Mr. Joe Farrugia and members and supporters of the Front kontra l-Golf Course. The Front Kontra l-Golf Course is made up of the following members: Progressive Farmers Union, Alternattiva Demokratika - The Green Party, Friends of the Earth (Malta), Nature Trust, Eco - The Ecological Foundation, Moviment Graffitti, Vegetarian Society, Pembroke Residents Association, Zminijietna, Alternattiva Demokratika Studenti and Inizjamed. It is supported by the University Chaplaincy, the Malta Organic Agriculture Movement and Kopin. __________________________________________________________ On 1st October, immediately after media reports of the presentation of a petition to the Vatican signed by 92 farmers at Tal Virtu, the Planning Authority gave authorisation to AX Holdings (AXH) to publish a summary of its Environmental Impact Statement for a golf course at Rabat - ahead of any public hearing. The 15 page document was submitted to the Church, the government, and MPs two weeks later, and then presented to some journalists - but the most affected parties, the farmers, were not sent a copy. A request published in the letters column of last week's Sunday Times to AXH to send a copy of its document to the farmers has not been met. The Front has nevertheless obtained a copy from other sources, and responds to the key points below. The report is very long and detailed and it is very difficult to respond to each point in this article: a structured, paragraph-by-paragraph response will also be submitted to the Church and the government. The Front concludes from this document that AX H is insisting that Malta must forego 5.6 square kilometres of its remaining agricultural land, an area the size of Sliema, permanently defacing the approaches to Malta's unique heritage - the city of Mdina - in the hope of attracting an additional 10,400 five star tourists, and 21,600 'average tourists' to play golf at some unspecified future date - an increase of respectively of 0.86% and 1.8%, totaling 2.66% over present annual tourist arrivals of 1.2million. The projected additions to tourist flows and expenditures, which depend on factors beyond Malta's control (world tourism developments, competitive strength of other golfing areas etc.) are negligible in percentage terms, so that the projected 'economic benefits' in no way outweigh the environmental and social costs of the proposed golf course. On the contrary, the support to Tal-Virtu farmers to develop grape and organic produce in the area - which face a secure and growing market - will bring certain net economic, social and benefits to the nation. The 'contribution' of the project is TRULY MINIMAL in statistical terms. Whilst recognising the suitability of 15.3ha for vineyards, it fails to make the case against the entire golf course perimeter of 72 ha becoming a premier vine growing area, although the document states that "local grape supply does not satisfy demand Local wineries import over LM 1.5 million of grapes a year". AXH continues to ignore both the existence of the Church-State agreement, the provisions of the Structure Plan, the recommendation against this project made by the Planning Authority Directorate, the farmers' declared refusal to give up their legal tenancies, as well as alternative pathways to attracting tourists to Malta, or potential high-value alternative uses for the Tal-Virtu� farmland. ECONOMIC ISSUES The document does not state under what financial conditions AXH intends to acquire the land from the State. Maybe AXH expects a free donation, as compared to purchase at the commercial market price of land in the area? The document does not explain how a single golf course in Malta could successfully outcompete dozens of golf resorts around the Mediterranean, offering a selection of courses within easy reach (there are 50 within two hours' drive of Marbella, southern Spain); competing locations identified being Spain, Italy, Greece, Rhodes, Corfu, Cyprus, Tunisia, Gran Canaria. The Front adds that the following Mediterranean locations also offer winter golfing: Morocco, Sardinia, Turkey, Egypt, Israel and that some 15 new courses are being planned for Sicily, many near or by the sea. The 1997 Golf Course Report states that " the development of a golf course may attract tourists seeking to play golf during the winter and shoulder months". In contrast, the AXH document's figures are presented as inevitable facts, when they are no more than forecasts based on unstated assumptions which do not appear to have been corrected to reflect present market trends, in particular after 11th September. The AXH document claims that 735 jobs could be created as a result of the golf course, compared to the 1997 Golf Report's more modest 100 to 125. How many jobs and livelihoods would be destroyed by removing 5.6 square kilometres from possible very high value agriculture (grapes and organic products) and related processing industries and services in the future? Moreover, these forecasts are not compared to what alternative tourist developments could generate for the Maltese economy, whether in terms of numbers, investments or expenditures - water sports, heritage and nature tourism, pony trekking , short 'city breaks', etc Moreover , Mr. Xuereb has told the media that the golf course would be open to all residents of Malta as well as to hotel guests, thus undermining the exclusive character and uncluttered fairways and clubhouses which 5* golfers and time pressed conference and incentive tourists will pay high sums for. Finally, the AXH represents the golf course as the 'only' alternative for the Tal-Virtu perimeter on the basis of the questionable assumption that at no time in the future will there be investments to upgrade the areas' s agricultural potential - thus ignoring both present and foreseeable incentives to increase vineyard acreage. FARMERS' COMPENSATION AXH states that LM 500,000 has been 'budgeted' for farmers' compensation. Since the project requires 56.7 hectares, this amounts to LM 8818 per hectare or LM 979 per tumulo. The yardstick used is AXH's estimates of present farmer incomes. The return on a bank deposit would be (at 4%) LM352 on LM8818, LM39.16 on LM 979. Yet farmers to be 'allowed' to cultivate vines on an area of 15.3 ha (on condition their plots are merged into 1 ha. Fields) under AXH management are 'guaranteed' a 'gross income of over LM 3000', once AXH has invested 230,000 LM in the area. Who would give such a guarantee is not stated. The only fair yardstick for compensation is that of 'foregone future earnings' viz a capital sum, which could generate the same net income to farmers irreversibly deprived of their land, as 'guaranteed' to those allowed to grow vines. (the net income after costs and taxes from the guaranteed gross income of LM 3000 per Ha.) The government has launched a programme known as AgriPlus to increase land under viticultutre from the 280 hectares it now covers up to 1000 hectares. The plan consists of lending each farmer up to LM6000 (interest free) to those who would utilize these for projects which include viticulture. Every hectare would be costing about LM9000 to plant and fully rig with drip irrigation and trellising (LM1000 per tumulo). Each tumulo could yield up to 3000 kilos of grapes or up to LM900 per tumulo or LM8100 per hectare. If the pruning is forced to lower production and enhance quality the price would have to go up accordingly. Now for the farmers to do this they simply do not need AXH. Indeed AXH wants to hold the tenancy in its name. It knows very well that its tenancy is protected by law but so do the farmers. It denigrates the part-time farmer and wants to deprive him or her of the possibility of supplementing his or her income by several hundreds of LIRI per year. This upgrading of the potentiality of the land vis a vis the tenants has only transpired this year. The project that applies to viticulture has been launched this year. Any calculations in the EIA on the potential income of the tenants involved have now been rendered useless and invalid. Readers have to remember that over LM2million worth of grapes are imported yearly. Why not encourage our farmers part-time or not, to substitute the imported grapes with a locally grown crop. The Government should be doing a huge publicity exercise to promote such an initiative amongst farmers. AGRICULTURAL USE The AXH document states that 22.2 hectares will be used for fairways, 15. 3 ha for vineyards, "which could still be cultivated by the existing tenants " whilst the rest (34.5 hectares) will consist of open spaces, rubble walls, and areas retained for ecological reasons. The document claims that a survey carried out by the farmers shows that most of the land is not being intensively farmed, with some 60 per cent being used for fodder production, generating an income of less than LM 400 a year compared to an average gross income of Lm3,000 a year for grapes. The critical importance of this fodder production to the livestock industry as shown during the foot and mouth crisis is thus ignored. If indeed, upgrading of agricultural land requires investment of LM 15,032 per hectare, (the document's figures for the vineyard segment) then the upgrading of the entire perimeter for vineyards would cost LM1,082, 352 - a sum way below what AXH owes to the state (debts to state owned entities etc) While the document states that biological wine would be produced (a very questionable assumption) on the 15.3 ha. perimeter of the golf course, yet measures to prevent pesticide drift and fertiliser leachate into groundwater from the golf course into the vineyard area should be described. The competence of the developer, or the need to experiment with 'new varieties' or mount a gene pool within the proposed vineyards are assumed as given. Surely these functions are already being/could be carried out by the Government Farm and/or local vintners In conclusion, the Front urges the immediate withdrawal of this project, and its replacement by a 10-year agricultural development plan to upgrade the area concerned into a site for organic, sustainable agriculture producing high quality grapes and other products. |