Commercial clutter at Hondoq quay

The fact that the Hondoq quay repair saga seems to have come to an end is welcome news for everyone, especially the people who enjoy using the area so much. The Gatt brothers did a good job and as I said before they are to be congratulated, but it now appears that Hondoq has another problem.

I was with friends the other night who have just returned from a holiday in Gozo and I had particularly asked them to pay a visit to Hondoq and take some photographs for me. The above picture is one of them. It shows plastic deck chairs, umbrellas, signs for boat trips etc all over the area which has just been repaired.

What doesn't show in this photo but which my friends have told me about is a speedboat moored at the area of quay which was repaired and big signs on the railings for boat trips to Comino, which obstruct the view. So where has all this clutter come from? Does it belong to the people who run the kiosk at Hondoq? I'm told that at night the area around the kiosk contains several boats, a caravan, canoes, banana boats, vans, cars, etc. The whole area has been taken over. Has a licence been issued for this to happen?

A lot of people are bringing caravans down to the bay and taking up a lot of space. It seems that every person with a caravan stakes out their own little territory, which they seem to think is their personal property.

I think it's time that the ministry comes clean regarding its intentions for the Hondoq area. The Minister for Gozo has in the past shown her support for the environmental rape project. Is this still the case or is she going to throw her weight behind the people she is supposed to be representing?

It is also time that the ministry took the area back for the people as it is obvious that what is happening there now is becoming abusive. The Maltese have a saying that you offer someone a finger and they take the whole hand, which seems very appropriate in this case.