Catharsis
There’s no doubt that the demolition of Magic Kiosk and the confiscation of everything inside it is a form of catharsis for those of my generation and upwards who grew up in Sliema. And it had to be a government minister who is exactly my age and who also grew up in Sliema to provide it.
Nobody who isn’t from this background can hope to understand what Magic Kiosk symbolised to us: an enduring, post-1987 monument to Patrick Holland and Il-Fusellu, to corruption, aggression, violation of civil liberties and the helplessness of ordinary citizens in the face of it all. It wasn’t just a kiosk.
The old Bonello’s kiosk was where we all went with our mothers for an ice-cream. The mothers did their bit of social interaction and the kids mucked about. Those who grew up in Valletta might understand a little, because the role St Anne Square and its kiosk played was the equivalent of the Upper Barrakka. Then one day, when the people of Sliema had had more than their fill already of corruption and violations, and of government-protected thugs running around taking protection money, they woke up to find Bonello’s kiosk being torn down because one of Patrick Holland’s and Lorry Sant’s ‘colleagues’ wanted to run a business on that prime site. And the next thing we knew, there was Magic Kiosk. And now it’s gone.
Joe Pace, by his behaviour and his comments to the press (shown below) demonstrates that his attitude hasn’t changed at all since the 1970s. He still thinks in terms of ‘issa nirrangaw.’ He feels violated and shocked – oh, the irony – because despite repeated warnings to clear out his stuff and several eviction notices, he still thought they wouldn’t actually evict him. And so he left everything as it was, carried on with business as usual, and is now professing outrage because the contents of Magic Kiosk are being confiscated – including, he claims, EUR70,000 from the cash register, which were the previous day’s takings. Maybe he thinks we’ll actually believe that the few British pensioners who ate egg and chips there on Thursday gave him EUR70,000 worth of business in a single day. Well, we aren’t all the sort of people who think that tal-bizniz make money by turning on a tap, so we can pretty much work out that there are probably two redundant noughts in that figure. If they really did have EUR70,000 worth of takings, you can rest assured that they wouldn’t have been left in the till overnight in a glass structure.
The Times, Saturday, 10 January 2009
Employees ponder future as Magic Kiosk is dismantled
Christian Peregin
Magic Kiosk, Sliema’s controversial turquoise landmark, began its vanishing act yesterday morning as the owner watched the government confiscate his belongings, including up to €70,000 in cash.
Government workers began demolishing the aquarium-like structure, which has dominated St Anne Square for some 30 years, at 5.30 a.m. The move paves the way for the embellishment of the square, which gives residents a breather, but left employees who turned up for work standing in disbelief. The government had warned it would not renew the lease contracts with the tenant after they expired last month and gave an ultimatum for eviction. Since this was not done, all the items removed will become government property, including television sets, equipment, alcohol and the cash in the register and safe, which the tenant, Joe Pace says, amounted to between €60,000 and €70,000.
Mr Pace, 73, was served with an eviction notice some days ago but applied for the court to issue a warrant of prohibitory injunction on grounds of discrimination. The request was rejected and a hearing was set for Friday.
In the circumstances, Mr Pace expected the project to be put on hold until the court settled the matter but his hopes were crushed yesterday when family members woke him up at the crack of dawn to tell him the restaurant was being dismantled. His 20 or so employees who turned up for a normal day’s work were stunned when they found their workplace being torn apart.
Paul Cini, who worked at Magic Kiosk for 30 years, said that, although he saw it coming, he had had no chance to seek alternative employment. Another employee, Martin Micallef, 53, who worked there for 25 years asked: “What am I supposed to do now? I have a wife and child. Who is going to pay my debts now?”
The first items to be removed were the tables, chairs and ceiling fans, followed by solar water heaters and the tanks on the roof. In the afternoon the roof was ripped up by a crane. The restaurant was still serving customers until Thursday evening, so the cash register was full of money and the kitchen fully stocked.
Mr Pace, who remained level-headed, seemed resigned to the fate of his beloved restaurant. “I have dealt with politicians in the past. I know how these things are done. I expected them to wait for a court decision. That’s why I didn’t move out. But I guess this goes to show the government’s prepotency.”
He was particularly disappointed that he was not called to open the establishment and take account of all his belongings or to take the readings of the electricity meter beforehand. “The only thing they gave me was my diary with telephone numbers,” manager Louis Scicluna said. “They are acting as if we are thieves. Actually, they are acting as if they are thieves. It’s like an organised robbery,” his wife, Mr Pace’s daughter, said.
According to Parliamentary Secretary Jason Azzopardi, yesterday’s actions were “reasonable” because Mr Pace had been given a number of warnings to leave but he chose to ignore them. He said the government had forged ahead after getting expert legal advice. Tens of Works Division officials and policemen were on the scene as many onlookers watched the Sliema Ferries’ landmark being dismantled.
The restaurant was built on government land and was rented by the Pace family for the past 32 years through two contracts. One part of the lease expired four years ago and was never renewed while the second expired on December 19. The government had filed a judicial protest some months before informing Mr Pace the lease would not be renewed. According to the Land Department, two eviction notices were issued after that date but Mr Pace expected the matter to be resolved in court and so he did not move out, even after a permit was issued for the demolition to take place.
The decision not to renew the leases was made so that St Anne Square could be returned to its former glory as an open public space with a small wooden kiosk, an initiative of Rural Affairs Minister George Pullicino. Mr Pace had offered to fund the project himself if he could run the small kiosk but this offer was refused. “The former tenant has no ownership of the land and therefore no right to run the new kiosk,” Mr Pullicino said when he visited the site yesterday. The owner had said the Magic Kiosk was being targeted by people with a vested interest.
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“The owner had said the Magic Kiosk was being targeted by people with a vested interest.” Bloody hell!!! What cheek!
The first paragraph of The Times’ article is incorrect.
The second paragraph contradicts it: “all the items removed will become government property, including television sets, equipment, alcohol and the cash in the register and safe, which the tenant, Joe Pace says, amounted to between €60,000 and €70,000.”
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20090110/local/cash-found-at-magic-kiosk-returned-to-operator-yesterday-government
Guess you were right!! 70,000euros without a few zeros !!
Let’s spare a thought for the Magic Kiosk staff who, as a result of the owner’s attitude in ignoring the eviction notices and warnings, ended up jobless overnight. The Magic Kiosk waiters, for example, were renowned for their “old-school” impeccable service. I sincerely hope that, despite their age, they should have no problem in finding alternative employment.
[Daphne – Yes, I agree. The sad thing is that they expected him to look out for their interests, despite his track record of ungentlemanly behaviour.]
I can’t believe they would tear down such a beautiful turquoise structure. It reminded me of the sea around Comino. What a horrible, horrible act.
You were perfectly right about the cash available on the premises. Mr Pace’s claim was given the lie by the Government, as reported by timesofmalta.com. With his credibility at zero, Mr Pace had better keep a low profile, and just enjoy his ill-begotten gains…
Saturday, 10th January 2009 – 13:45CET
Cash found at Magic Kiosk returned to operator yesterday – government
The Government Property Division said this morning that during the removal of Magic Kiosk yesterday, €530.18, five diaries and keys were returned to the operator by officials from the Lands Department in the presence of a police inspector
The government said in a statement that all this was documented in a receipt signed by all parties involved. The operator also declared in writing that, as far as he knew, there was no other cash on site. Food was donated to the Dar tal-Providenza.
The government said that the operator had had more than enough time to make the necessary preparations to evacuate the place. He had been informed that the lease had expired partly in 2004 and partly in 2008 so he had no right or title on the land.
For the past four years, the government said, the operator had been occupying part of the site without having title to it and the Lands Department informed the operators through a judiciary protest last July that the lease was not going to be renewed.
I totally agree with you Daphne, but I must add that credit should not be given to the very same Sliema resident who turned a blind eye to Sliema’s barbaric disfigurment… George Pullicino shouldn’t capitalise on Jason Azzopardi’s acheivements.
[Daphne – Yes, thank you, Jason.]
From the Times today:
“Cash found at Magic Kiosk returned to operator yesterday – government
The Government Property Division said this morning that during the removal of Magic Kiosk yesterday, €530.18, five diaries and keys were returned to the operator by officials from the Lands Department in the presence of a police inspector”
Looks like Daphne was a lot closer in her estimate of the cash register holdings than the owner of the business. Almost spot on in fact.
Just a reminder to those of you who remember those horrible days of the 1980s. Magic Kiosk was one of the outlets that was on the BOYCOTT list for advertising on Dardir Malta. I have never entered that glass structure since then and am looking forward to being able to enjoy the square as it was in the early seventies. Thanks once again to Jason. And once you are at it, Jason, can you kindly have a look at the hundreds of houses that Patrick Holland requisitioned, and do something about it.
If Mr Joe Pace claims he made €70,000 a day, I hope both the TAX and VAT departments took note, and charge him tax accordingly!
Note for Inland Revenue….takings for one day ‘off peak’ €70,000.
Step 1 – Assume ‘off peak’ day is ‘average’ day
Step 2 – Multiply €70,000 x 365 (or however many days in a year the monstrosity operated)
Step 3 – Deduct appropriate percentage for expenses
Step 4 – Figure out tax due
Step 5 – Assume growth rate over last few years and estimate profit over the years
Step 6 – Compare to Income Tax returns
Step 7 – Have a really good laugh or get your act together
Simple really….
I’m older than you Daphne and wasn’t a Sliema girl so never
went to Bonello’s with my mother. But for me and many of my
generation it was 3.30 every Sunday before a 4 o’clock
film. A ritual, then a big rush after the film to get
a bus home and into our uniforms and back to the Sacred
Heart where we were boarders. In fact, some of my
contemporaries will remember leaving at the last minute
and starting to take clothes off on the bus on the way
home. Happy memories – I’m so glad St. Anne’s Square
will revert to its former glory.
So true Daphne! The Bonello Kiosk was part of our childhood and I could never ever get myself to step into Magic Kiosk for all it symbolised. I actually stopped to watch the crane removing the hideous structure yesterday at lunchtime, hardly believeing it was finally really happening. I look forward to sitting in the open square again. Thank you George, Slimizi deserved this!
Look at the bright side: he had a solar water heater, at least.
I just read your column carried in today’s The Malta Independent on Sunday. I really hope they give the wooden kiosk back to the Bonellos. I don’t know whether the Lands Department will have it tendered out. I’m presuming the value of the lease would warrant such a tendering out. However, the Bonellos (or their children) should get it back. That’s how justice should be done. It’s disgusting to note that they haven’t been compensated yet.
On another note, reading your column this morning reminded me of how bad things were at the time. We all tend to forget (I’m 31). I remember the 80s, which for a Paola girl living in a Nationalist family attending a church school were nightmarish. However, when I read what other people went through (even my father was subjected to discrimination which threatened his and our livelihood) I cannot but thank God for sending people like Dr. Fenech Adami and his team because, yes, they made mistakes and they had their own shortcomings, but they really delivered us from what had been terrible times and they gave us a decent life.
And, frankly, I don’t want to forget those terrible times. It’ s important to live today in the perspective of those times. Let’s not take for granted the rights we have today, the freedoms we enjoy every minute and the joy of living in a country where we can really live without fear of persecution and discrimination safe in the knowledge that even if we’re discriminated against illegally, we have efficient forms of redress. And let’s be grateful – not necessary vote for the Nationalists every single election – but let’s be grateful and in acknowledgement that, irrespective of one’s political inclination, the change in government of 1987 and subsequent denunciations of Labour’s policies, have really transformed us into an EU country with exciting opportunities and international recognition.
I read your coloumn today. What a disgusting past we Maltese had, and the shame of it all is these people never got punished for what they did to this nation.
They never got a taste of their own medicine. This is why they act all high and mighty.