Alternattiva Demokratika has said in a statement this morning that “it notes that Government has accepted a donation of €560,000 by General Soft Drinks Co Limited representatives of Coca-Cola in Malta on behalf of the Coca-Cola Foundation. These funds are to be used on a water project in Gozo within the context of eco-Gozo.”

Carmel Cacopardo, AD Spokesman on Sustainable Development and Home Affairs said, “AD queries whether it would have been better for the Coca-Cola representatives in Malta to cease making use of boreholes in Qormi to supply water for their factory in Marsa. Their help would be much more effective in the national effort to protect the water table as less water would be extracted.”

Michael Briguglio, AD Chairman said, “The acceptance by Government of donations from an interested party, on the eve of a decision on the control of extraction of water from the water table through the use of boreholes, conveys a very wrong message. The government would have been more credible if it had postponed acceptance of the donation until such time as it had formulated and published a clear policy on the use of boreholes to extract water from the water table.”

The AD Chariman continued, “at present General Soft Drinks and other companies extract water from the public aquifer to use it to produce mineral water and soft drinks. If this unsustainable practice is redressed, AD would not query the involvement of Coca Cola in a water project in Gozo. But as long as this unsustainable practice persists the donation sounds more like a public relations exercise to cover up this misuse of water resources.” The Ad Chairman concluded, “at least three Government officials (namely the Prime Minister Dr Gonzi, the MEPA Chairman Austin Walker and the MRA Chairman Reuben Balzan) have held or still hold high ranking positions within Mizzi Group – which owns General Soft Drinks Co. Ltd.”

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