Members of the public who witnessed the spectacle can be forgiven for thinking that Police Headquarters was the fish market, as RGP officers unloaded the crates of fish from police vehicles and carted them into New Mole House.
The Piraña became famous when it was boarded and arrested earlier this year for illegal fishing in Gibraltar bay. Crew members were subsequently fined by the Magistrates Court and the trawler's nets, which had been seized, were later returned.
However, about half-a-tonne of fish remained confiscated and in cold storage.
Contacted by PANORAMA, a police spokesman confirmed that some of the fish had ended up at RGP headquarters and distributed among police officers.
The police said that "nobody wanted the fish" and that, over the last 2 weeks, St. Bernard's Hospital, Mount Alvernia and the Senior Citizens Club had virtually been forced to take some after much persuasion.
There were about 50 crates in all. Those that remained went to police HQ. "Some people were asked to collect their fish from police HQ," said the spokesman.
The ex Piraña fish had been in cold storage since the incident in the bay last January "but we were going to be charged for storage, so we decided to get rid of it," said the Police.
A right royal fishy business!
Delegations attending the week-long Conference are from Alderney, Cyprus, Falkland Islands, Guernsey, Isle of Man, Jersey, Malta, St. Helena and the United Kingdom. There are also invited guests Mr. Bowen Wells MP, International Treasurer of the CPA; Mr. Andrew Imlach, Director of Information Services, CPA Secretariat; Conseiller R Berry and Dr. J Marek MP, regional Representatives and Mr. Alan Sandall, of the House of Commons. Attending as observers is a delegation from Malaysia.
The Gibraltar delegation is made up of Lt-Col E M Britto, K Azopardi, J J Gabay, Dr. J J Garcia and D J Reyes (Secretary).
Four working sessions will cover the following subjects:
The relationship of small states/ territories with the United Kingdom and/or their bigger neighbours and is there a need to improve those relationships for their mutual benefit.
Prospects for social and economic development, protection of the environment and co-operation in the 21st Century.
The relationship of territories in the Region with the European Union and/or the United Nations.
Small states/ territories and the challenges of the New Millennium/ CPA affairs.
The programme has been prepared by the Gibraltar branch's executive committee which is chaired by the Speaker John Alcantara.
Soon after details of the proposals were published here, the Government issued a Press Release denying that the report had been commissioned by the Chief Minister, as had been claimed by the Spanish 'ABC' daily.
The Press Release added: "In January 1998 the Chief Minister received from Mr. Stagnetto an unsolicited courtesy copy of a document containing his own views on several political issues affecting Gibraltar."
Mr. Stagnetto himself said elsewhere that the views were his own and that Mr. Caruana had not commissioned the report.
The GSLP/ Liberal joint committee spoke of the Government misleading the public by giving the impression that it was not aware that a report existed which suggested the need for a deal with Spain on sovereignty.
The Government responded with another Press Release saying it was disgusted by the opposition statement accusing the Government of misleading the public and the Chief Minister of being economical with the truth in relation to the Stagnetto report.
This not only impedes economy policy transparency in terms of the information that Government can provide to this House, to employers and to trade unions - it also prevents the construction of credible national accounts and conventional economic growth and performance statistics.
There have been two previous input/ output studies, the first undertaken around 1981 and the second in 1987. These studies looked at the economy in the context of major economic change brought about by specific extraneous factors. In 1981, it was the anticipated closure of the naval dockyard. In 1987 it was the impact of the opening of the frontier.
Since then, the structure of Gibraltar's economy has changed significantly having adjusted to the effects of further, substantial defence cuts, the considerably growth in home ownership and the diversification flowing from the development and expansion in financial services, tourism and port activities, including the post GSP contraction in shiprepair activity. The economy has therefore not only undergone continuous major change but has also been increasingly exposed to market forces such as fluctuations in interest rates (which in real terms remain high) and the relative strength of sterling, notably against the peseta. It is also increasingly exposed to the impact of, what I may call, external institutional pressures or changes which increasingly interfere with the direction and workings of the domestic economy. These include EU measures and legislation dealing with issues as diverse as the environment, health and safety, workers rights, and tax harmonisation agenda.
In such a situation it is all the more important in order to determine optimum economic policies to be able to analyse each sector of the economy and the way in which they interact with each other.
The Government has therefore commissioned economic consultants to undertake a further input/ output study of the Gibraltar Economy. The purpose of the proposed study is to provide a detailed model that will simulate the behaviour of the Gibraltar economy in response to a wide range of influences. It will enable Government to analyse, plan and measure the economy, the effectiveness of medium and long term strategies and policies and to predict the likely impact of changing circumstances and conditions.
The Input/ Output study which will take around a year or so to complete, will form an important quantitative basis for that strategy. The study will measure the economic significance and the impact of change in each of Gibraltar's sectors of final demand, that is, the direct and indirect changes in the level of activity relating to sectors such as financial services, tourism, port activities and the Ministry of Defence. The model will however be refined to produce a micro-economic assessment of the nature of the different activities within each sector. In the tourism sector, for example, it will be possible to measure the relative income, employment and fiscal benefits within the visitor mix to Gibraltar. Similar analyses will be made for changes in final demand to the different types of activities in the finance sector or the different forms of port activity from bunkering to shiprepair and marina activity.
*From Budget speech
He questioned that the private sector was doing well, adding that £5 million in import duty was not a reflection of increased trade - much of it being from tobacco duty.
The Government finances today are "as healthy or as unhealthy as they were in 1966 when Mr. Caruana said they were in a state of disaster. If anything, they were marginally lower than in 1996."
The TGWU has described the Budget as "made to measure" for the Chamber of Commerce and the Gibraltar Federation of Small Business, contrasting what they term as a very small increase in personal allowances for the working class compared with what has been awarded to companies.
The Government says it is "most surprised" at the TGWU reaction to the Budget.
It is not clear what interest of the TGWU's members is served by the repetition of the opposition’s statement that the £5 million increase in import duty is not as a result of companies importing more goods, nor an upturn in performance, but by increase in the import of tobacco, and gambling. Gambling has nothing to do with import duty."
Questioning the credibility of Government figures and policies, opposition spokesman on tourism and commercial affairs Dr. Joseph Garcia said that Government was painting "an extraordinary picture, a combination of Alice in Wonderland and Peter Pan with the Chief Minister presiding over the stream having tea with the Queen of Hearts unaware that this fantasy world that was promised was and remains very distant from the harsh day to day reality of life."
Head teachers remain unanimous in their resistance to change in school hours, said education minister Dr. Bernard Linares.
The Government substitute "logic by denigration and clarity by vilification", said opposition education spokesman Joshua Gabay. He accused the Chief Minister of being more interested in the surface of things than substance, implying the continued reliance on income from tobacco.
"Despite the fairytale depicted by his propaganda machine, which is more and more verging on the undemocratic, nothing new has happened in the economy in the last 3 years, which can be attributed to a GSD policy initiative," said GSLP government services spokesman Juan Carlos Perez about the Chief Minister and his government, adding that it was an illusion created by the GSD that frontier problems would disappear if they got elected.
The performance of the lottery was very disappointing in terms of forecast outturn which was very much below the traditional figure of about £500,000, said Govt Services minister Ernest Britto. Lottery returns continue to average 30%.
Shortly after PANORAMA had hit the streets, leading lights in the finance centre were ringing each other with the question: Have you seen what PANORAMA has published?
Lawyers and others were seen walking about clutching a copy of Gibraltar's popular newsweekly, while the report became essential reading in many offices.
Since passporting has been hailed as a major breakthrough for the finance centre, allowing companies to base themselves here and operate across the EU, the news that Norwich Union had withdrawn their application under pressure shocked the Rock.
Insurance passporting was recognised as long ago as 1997 - and, in practice, it has still not taken off.
An exchange of correspondence obtained by PANORAMA showed that Norwich Union had been forced to withdraw their Spain application when the Foreign Office offered two courses of action which chief executive Paul Savignon found "unpalatable" to quote the Foreign Office. Mr. Savignon said it was with "the utmost reluctance" that he had acceded to withdraw the application and warned of the implications that further reneging by Britain will have "for the commercial relationship that exists between Gibraltar and Norwich Union."
In a letter to the Financial Services Commissioner an astounded Mr. Savignon said that Britain’s reluctance to overcome such problems is serving to undermine the development and credibility of the finance centre.
As soon as the PANORAMA exclusive became known there were those who, instead of assessing the seriousness of the situation disclosed, were more eager to establish how PANORAMA had got its totally accurate information.
This whole episode transcends Norwich Union and has repercussions for the industry as a whole. It is a matter of extreme public importance for Gibraltar as a whole, and not whether it is in favour or against a particular company.
Last February it was announced that Norwich Union International was setting up in Gibraltar following "recent initiatives by Government particularly towards clarification of our position in the EU... especially the achievement of passporting for locally based insurance... which have undoubtedly been catalysts in Norwich Union's decision making process," said Mr. Savignon at the time.
It was the first step to establish a pan-European operation through which the company will be able to exploit niche markets in Europe and the Mediterranean region, the public was told.
The company was to take full advantage offered by insurance passporting by initiating applications to a number of EU countries - applications that have hit a brick wall.
Since I have referred to the "waterworks", I might as well add that these seem to be as much time non-operational as working. Somehow, although we only have two or three public fountains in Gibraltar, we seem to have chronic technical difficulties, which we are unable to overcome and which result in the fountains in question spending as much time dry as in working order. Among these public fountains can be included, the small one erected by the Lions Club, situated in front of Southport Gates, and the one which was re-produced, at the expense of Shell Company of Gibraltar Limited, some years ago, using some of the parts of an original fountain which used to be in Commercial Square (now John Mackintosh Square), and later against the wall at the north end of Line Wall Boulevard, and finally at The Piazza.
With regard to this latter fountain, it was only operational for a short time in its new location. Then a local gardening company took over responsibility (on a voluntary basis, I think) and they eventually also gave up trying to keep it working, the decision then being taken to fill it up with plans and flowers, which was probably the best thing to do in the circumstances. The only other public fountain I can think of, is the one in the area under the bridge at the Alameda Botanical Gardens. I do not know whether this one has followed the fate of the others and is also "dry".
In contrast, two private fountains I can think of, namely the one at the entrance of the International Commercial Centre, and the one in the patio of Cornwall’s Centre, have been operational for quite a number of years, although the latter has recently also been dried and filled up with plants and flowers very much as was done with the Piazza fountain, although I understand that in the case of the Cornwall's Centre fountain, this step has been taken, not because of any problems with the plumbing or the water-flow, but because children continuously threw things into it dirtied the water.
But reverting to the Waterport fountain, I think it is about time it should be done away with in its present form., but not because it is misused by some people, as whatever fountain is put in its place, will on occasions be misused by those elements. It happens in Trafalgar Square on New Year's eve and on other important occasions when London wants to celebrate.
I seem to recall that this fountain, which was designed by the late architect, Natalio Langdon, in the days of the City Council circa 1963, was constructed with a very limited funds, and consequently what was produced, perhaps rather unfairly on Natalio Langdon, immediately became the subject of adverse criticism, which persists to this day. Be that as it may, it was the only, more or less working, public fountain in Gibraltar.
Since those days the area around Waterport has seen considerable improvement and embellishment. Furthermore the present Government is currently engaged in following on from where the GSLP administration left off, and possibly even improving and extending, the upgrading of the whole area from the North Mole to join the works at Casemates. In this context there is a crying need for the Waterport fountain to be removed and something more dignified and in keeping with the new standards that are being achieved in the area. As far as I know there are no plans to do away completely with the fountain. If I have got my facts right, a monument to commemorate “The Evacuation” is to be erected, but I believe this will go up at the centre of a new roundabout to be provided at the west end of Waterport Road where it branches off to North Mole Road and the old commercial wharf, there the "Mons Calpe" and Algeciras ferries used to berth. I am not necessarily saying that instead, "The Evacuation" monument should be erected where the Waterport fountain now is, as in my opinion it would be "more refreshing", if I may be permitted the pun, to have a fountain there. But please let us have something more worthy at the at the entrance to the town. Something akin to the big fountain at La Linea's Plaza de la Constitucion is what should be aimed at. Surely if they can do it, so can we.
PSA is also understood to have considered Gibraltar as a potential hub but a Lloyd's List report has quoted at the port's commercial director Luis Arroz as saying that port authority president Eugenio Borralho had been in Singapore talking to PSA officials last month. He added: "Talks are progressing and we can expect some news early next month. PSA is interested in a major transhipment port for Sines." He expected an announcement is expected by mid-June on a deal to build a container terminal with an eventual capacity of 1.3m.
Responding to the report a PSA spokesman said: "We have been talking for the last one-and-a-half years, but no agreement has been reached." PSA has said it is looking for at least a third of its revenues to come from from overseas ventures by 2007 as it looks beyond Singapore's shores for growth opportunities. At any one time it is in discussions with several overseas ports but only a small proportion of these lead to firm projects.
The attraction of ports situated close to the Strait of Gibraltar for global container lines is that they can be used to link the main East-West and North-South container routes.
Oh dear, this is looking like a long, hot summer. El Guy con su arreglito, los politiquillos involved in a verbal warfare y ahora me entero que el Royal Gibraltar Police have spent the weekend comiendo pescaito frito from el Piraña, el barco de pesca from Spain que tantos headaches le dio.
Los del Piraña eran los malos, pero su fish es bueno! Blimey con los malos ratos que pasaron in our waters RGP launches corriendo detras del Piraña, which was described hasta por el Navy as the trouble-maker of the Spanish armada.
Como se entere my darling husband se pone frito.
Frito esta mi Juan desde que se entero del arreglito proposed por el Queen's Counsel de Guy Stagnetto. Que callaito lo tenia, cariño.
A salido a su favour el Andlaw, so I don't know si es una locura de Verano. Dice que it is very imaginative!
My dear, que tiene de imaginative un solution to make Gibraltar Spanish. Mind you, I am not surprised que salga el Andlaw a su favor, after all es su cuñao.
Oh well, todo queda en familia. Anyway, a poquito poco we are getting to know de que pie cojea cada cual.
8th to 10th June Stylos Dance Academy show at the John Mackintosh Hall theatre, for further details contact Lilian Neale on Tel: 42896/ 43498.
Tuesday 8th June Queen's Birthday Parade rehearsal at the Naval Ground, Queensway at 9pm.
Wednesday 9th June The Gibraltar Heritage Trust, a talk by His Lordship the Bishop Rt. Rev Charles Caruana at the Charles Hunt Room, John Mackintosh Hall. "One aspect of the effects of the peninsular war on Gibraltar". At 8pm.
Thursday 10th June Gibraltar Heritage Trust "Exploring our deepest Heritage - In the beginning..." A talk by Dr. Clive Finlayson at the Charles Hunt Room, John Mackintosh Hall at 8pm.
Friday 11th June Queen's Birthday Parade at 6pm.
Saturday 12th June Marina Bay market, from 12pm to 6pm.
The following letter are published in the printed edition
I thought to myself, 'gee, it must be open season on Europeans!'
Something similar happened in Spain back in 1981, toxic cooking oil. But it wasn't just Spain, then there was Austria 1985 anti freeze in wine, France 1992-1995 listeria in cheese, and the UK's 1986 mad cow disease.
Recently Sr. Casco made his presence felt in the Campo de Gibraltar. In a vote winning exercise for the weewee party, he made it known that the proposed new Airport for the region would in no way benefit the Gibraltarians. Following in Casco's steps we hear Sr. Pique’s rambling about some incident involving a Spanish war ship and a Royal Navy patrol boat.
It has taken democratic Spain some 20 years for its centrist government to show some interest in the Campo de Gibraltar. At this stage its all promises. Maybe the GIL element has more to do with all this unexpected attention to the Campo, rather than British Gibraltar. The people from the Campo should never forget how much they owe Gibraltar and what Madrid did to them some 30 years ago, and to La Linea’s bread winners only recently.
It is frightening, I mean Belgium with its capital Brussels, Seat of European Power. Is there a European law against the poisonous, divisive, hate promoting gibberish of self centred politicians?
Manuel Correa
Australia.
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