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Francis
Cauchi has been the mayor of Ghajnsielem since the
inception of the local council in 1994. He has been
elected to the Local Council with the highest number of
votes in each election since and has been chosen as
mayor on each occasion.
Francis was
born on the
28th of March, 1950 son of Amabile the politician and
Natalina
nee Cassar. Following the steps of his father, he
contested several
parliament elections but later decided to focus his
energies into his native village and thus when the Local
Government was established in 1993 following the Maltese
Parliament’s approval, he contested on behalf of the
Nationalist Party and successfully elected with the
highest number of votes. Francis Cauchi has since then
been responsible for several capital projects and
cultural activities. |
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The first election for
the Ghajnsielem Local Council took place on Saturday, 19 March
1994. Eleven candidates contested the first election: six on
behalf of the Nationalist Party, four independent, and one on
behalf of the Saint Joseph Philharmonic Society. 1164 persons
cast their votes. The Nationalist Party candidates elected were
Francis Cauchi, Charles Spiteri, Paul Austin Stellini and Joseph
Camilleri; while the independents elected one candidate, Imperio
Portelli. On 6 April 1994, the candidates elected Francis Cauchi
as the first mayor of Ghajnsielem.
Mayor Francis Cauchi with the
President of Malta Dr. Edward Fenech Adami
and St Joseph Band Club President Gino Cauchi
A second election was held on 9
March 1996. The first sitting of the second Council was held on
1 April 1996 and the councillors confirmed Francis Cauchi as
mayor for the second term. A third election was held on 13 March
1999. The councillors unanimously confirmed Francis Cauchi as
mayor for the third consecutive term. A fourth election was held
on 9 March 2002 and the councillors again confirmed Francis
Cauchi as mayor for the fourth consecutive term.
Mayor Francis Cauchi
inaugurating a photo exhibition
Mayor Francis Cauchi laying
flowers in front of the War Victims monument
In
2005, after a major amendment to the Local council Act mayor and
deputy mayors started to elected by the residents when they cast
their ballot. In fact, the councillor with the highest number of
votes of the party that has the absolute majority of seats in
the council is automatically elected mayor. In this election
Francis Cauchi (23.48%) was automatically elected Mayor as he
managed to obtain the largest number of first count votes. The
same happened in 2008 elections.
Some of the
major projects which took place under his tenure include:
Bernard Hersey Playing
Field in Gudja Area
Amabile Cauchi Playing Field in Apparition Square
Sant’ Eliju Belvedere
Hamri Street Belvedere
Gieh Ghajnsielem Award
Apparition Monument and renovation of the 'Pjazza tad-Dehra'
Recreational Park and Parking Area in 10th December Square
Embellishment of Independence Square
Embellishment of Perellos Street
Embellishment of Anġlu Grech Street
Embellishment of Piazza Tolfa
Water culverts in Garden Street, Indendendence Square and
Apparition Square
Excavation and preservation of the Fungasse at Xatt l-Aħmar
Embellishment of passages at Xatt l-aħmar
New traffic signs and driving routes
Christmas street decorations
Financial assistance for the building of Christmas Village
New pavements, removal of wires and embellishment of the area in
front of the main clubs
War Monument
Assistance to various cultural activities
Twinning Agreement with the Italian town of Tolfa
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Resurfaced
Streets
Gleneagles Street
Simirat Street
Bengħażi Street
Sant Andrija Street
Fuq il-Għajn Street
Sant Eliju Street
Cordina Street
Gużeppi Cali Street
Iċ-Ċief Street
Tal-Latini Street
Il-Gawwi Street
Il Mogħdija Street
Il-Gudja Street
Malta Street
Kemmuna Street
Kemmunett Street
Filfla Street
Ċens l-Għarus Street
Wied ir-Rajjes Street
Cordina Street
Anġlu Grech Street
Part of Żewwieqa Street
Gudja Street
Apparition Square
Independence Square |
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Twinning: The story started with a simple fax which
Alessandro
Battilocchio decided to send
to the Ghajnsielem Local Council Office. On the fax,
there was an invitation to discuss the proposal of a
twinning between the two towns. The twinning
negotiations started in August 2002 after a delegation
from Tolfa visited Ghajnsielem. An agreement between the
two communities was signed a year later when a strong
group of 50 Ghajnsilmizi visited the beautiful town of
Tolfa for the first time. The tears of the last day
showed that a new friendship has started between the two
communities. The respective mayors were instrumental in
ensuring that twinning agreement that was signed between
Ghajnsielem and Tolfa was a successful one. In fact, a
strong friendship exists between the Italian people and
the Ghajnslemizi. Several trip exchanges take place each
year in order to keep this friendship twinning between
the two towns alive.
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His Football Years
 That
Francis Cauchi does not have chapters written on him for his
heroics in goal for the Blacks is not his fault. Throughout his
career, he had in front of him a group of players that took
their defensive responsibilities seriously. However, the Blacks'
impregnability at the back was also due in part to Francis
abilities as a goalkeeper. A case in point was the famous
friendly match that Ghajnsielem played against the Hamrun
Spartans in the 1972/73 season. The expert Maltese did find
their way occasionally through the Blacks rearguard only to find
Francis Cauchi standing tall between the posts doggedly
preserving the commendable 0-0 draw for the Blacks. Following a
great tradition of Blacks' keepers, including Michael Bugeja and
Toni Buttigieg to mention two, Francis donned the number one
jersey of the Club for the first time as a sixteen year old in
the season-opening Galea Cup competition of 1966/67.
The soft-spoken, slightly
built youngster was not eased into the team like most of his
minor league team-mates with whom he had just won the first
minor league championship for the Club. He was pushed to the
front upon Toni Buttigieg's emigration. His baptism of fire came
in the two-match epic of a Galea Cup final against Victoria
Hotspurs where the Blacks finally emerged victorious 3-1 in the
replay of the final.
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Career Achievements |
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Club |
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1965/66 |
Under/16
League |
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1966/67 |
Galea Cup |
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1967/68 |
Galea Cup |
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1969/70 |
British
American Cup |
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First
Division |
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Galea Cup |
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Independence
Cup |
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1970/71 |
British
American Cup |
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Esso Cup |
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First
Division |
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Independence
Cup |
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1971/72 |
British
American Cup |
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Esso Cup |
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First
Division |
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Independence
Cup |
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1972/73 |
First
Division |
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Galea Cup |
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1973/74 |
First
Division |
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G.F.A. Cup |
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N.S.B. Cup |
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Francis Cauchi's
career numbers are staggering. He registered 44 complete
game shutouts, which translate to the fact that he did
not concede a goal in 40% of his appearances in goal for
the Blacks. He conceded 95 goals in total which works
out to less than one goal per match (0.86), and well
less than the historic rate for all the Club's
goalkeepers of just over one goal a game (1.07). The
1969/70 season was his best. He registered 10 shutouts
from sixteen appearances, conceded only 3 goals in eight
league matches and 7 in total, and conceded two goals in
any one match only once. As a matter of fact, in his
appearances in the five championship seasons, he
conceded two goals on only four occasions from 62
matches played--he was never beaten three times in one
match during that time.
Injury to Francis
twice forced the Club to look for an emergency
replacement. He had to come out in the Galea Cup final
loss of the 1970/71 season. He went on to play only a
handful of matches that season, with Toni Buttigieg
seeing most of the action. Then in the 1973/74 season he
suffered injury early on and Wistin Sciberras was
brought in. Francis made a second half appearance in the
historic match against Hereford United and acquitted
himself well with some difficult saves. It is remarkable
that on the two occasions that Francis Cauchi lost his
starting role in net, he did not rock the boat upon his
return. |
He quietly assumed a
back-up role and cheered the team on. He was rewarded for his
team spirit because by attaining the objective of five
consecutive championships the players that were on the field of
play on that fateful day in June 1974 made sure that they along
with Francis would gain football immortality.
Although he made an
emergency appearance in 1980/81, Francis effectively retired
from football in the 1974/75 season after appearing in a handful
of matches. So ended Francis Cauchi's contribution to
Ghajnsielem Football Club.
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