I was very moved by the Zejtun Local Council and shire, who celebrated the 5th anniversary of the passing of one of Malta's greatest Ghana singing legends, Frans 'il-Budaj'. Frans took Ghana singing to new heights with his unique presentation style and brilliant verse and lyrics.
With his very melodic and soulful voice, along with his great personality and remarkable stage communicative skills, Frans opened doors which had long been shut for Maltese traditional music. He also managed to break down the barriers and huge prejudice and stigma Ghana suffered in Maltese society in the past.

Frans was a poet, an author, an actor, a writer, a singer, a painter, a sculpture and blessed with so many other talents which made him one of the most revered artists in Malta.
After leaving his beloved Zejtun Village, where he was born and lived with his family, he emigrated to Australia in his youth where he spent ten years until he finally returned to Malta to Birkirkara where he lived until he passed away on the 21st of June in 2006.

I am proud to say that Frans was a very dear friend of mine as well as a music colleague. We first collaborated in the album 'Tila" and were working on another album together when he suddenly died. On the first anniversary of his death I remixed the two tracks which we had completed and used the other themes I had written for him as a tribute to him and released them in an album. I called that album CD 'Tifkira' as a tribute to a great artist and a dear friend.

A friend of mine who was also a close friend of Frans, sent me this set of stamps and envelopes which I was thrilled to receive. I will treasure these mementos as Frans is one of those artists who was gone too soon.

I congratulate the City of Beland and the Kunsill Lokali taz-Zejtun who have honoured Frans 'il-Budaj' in this way.
Budaj remains one of the finest artists Malta ever produced.

Manuel Casha

6 August 2011