Volksbank and Rabat Local Council establish the Fondazzjoni Anton Agius Volksbank Malta Limited and the Rabat Local Council have just established the Fondazzjoni Anton Agius with the aim of contributing to the restoration of some of the historical landmarks of Rabat, Malta. The foundation is named in honour of the Rabat-born artist who embellished Malta with so many works of art; it is probably the first public-private partnership of its kind in Malta. Volksbank has provided an initial endowment of € 25,000 to enable the new foundation to embark on its first projects.
It is hoped that other organisations and philanthropic individuals will join this initiative as sponsors and provide the Foundation with additional support both financially and by way of expertise. “Volksbank has been very well accepted in the Maltese community”, Managing Director Herbert Skok said as he explained the background of the sponsorship. “The Bank is very happy with the Maltese customers it has acquired and would like to strengthen its very good connections within the community. In spite of the worldwide financial problems, Volksbank Malta has achieved good results last year and so we want to share the Bank’s success with the Maltese society. Consequently we were looking for a way to give something back.” The concept originated after Volksbank responded to Rabat Mayor Sandro Craus’ appeal to save one of the locality’s heritage sites. The idea of establishing a foundation soon followed and was finalized by notarial act on 3 March 2009 in the historic building of Wignacourt Museum in Rabat, in the presence of Parliamentary Secretary Chris Said and the Labour Party main spokesperson on Local Councils, Dr. Stefan Bountempo. The Foundation has already set down to business and identified two heritage sites which need urgent attention. The first one will be the Gheriexem Fountain, situated on the arterial road leading from Domus Romana to the Nigret zone. This lovely historic monument is in a very poor state of conservation.
“Volksbank is very proud to support the restoration of such interesting monuments as the Gheriexem Fountain”, Mr. Skok concluded. “Malta has such a rich heritage and so many historical sites worth conserving that all sectors of society must contribute to conserve, restore and upkeep these national treasures.”
