De Marco denies involvement in negotiations over ITS land contract

Nationalist Party deputy leader Mario de Marco has denied being involved in negotiations between the developers of the DB San Gorg and the government.

De Marco’s legal firm was engaged by SD Finance Plc – a newly created public limited company owned by the developers of the DB San Gorg, on the site of the Institute of Tourism Studies.

De Marco argued that the law firm provides legal services to many companies and individuals, adding that it had been offering its services to the SD group for a long time.

Likewise, he added, there were other MPs whose firms worked with such companies. He stopped short of referring to PN MP Francis Zammit Dimech by name, but he reminded journalists at a press conference of when the directors of the Seabank Hotel in Mellieha had been charged with the involuntary homicide of a worker. The De Marco firm, he added, had appeared for the directors.

The three directors were later discharged by court.

“De Marco and Associates is a legal firm providing services to different people, including SD Group. This has been going on for years and has nothing to do with [the ITS deal],” the deputy leader insisted.

He acknowledged that this could give rise to a perception of conflict of interest, “but the reality is that we do not hold a full-time role as MPs… you have MPs who work full-time with the government, there are MPs who work in business and others who are consultants”.

De Marco went on to add that it was time for parliament to become a fulltime job.

He fended off questions relating to the criticism raised by the PN over the ITS contract: “Guido De Marco & Associates provides legal services. The criticism was aimed at the government and the commercial conditions. We do not give advice on commercial conditions and we are not their business consultants.”

The deputy leader added that the PN would be issuing its position on the ITS sale in the coming days.

PN: Lack of good governance damaging Malta’s reputation

De Marco was speaking at a press conference during which he once again hit out against a lack of good governance.

“Without good governance, you can’t have a good reputation, and without a good reputation you can’t bring in investment,” he said.

De Marco also argued that the government need to look at new niche markets.

Taking the floor, Kristy Debono said that while the PN acknowledged the positive numbers in terms of economic growth, it would only be real when it’s felt by citizens.

“Innovation, creative economy, digital economy and FinTech are the way forward for Malta. Whilst the Prime Minister has occasionally mentioned these niche, no effective policy has been implemented,” she said.

Nationalist MP Claudio Grech said that the economy is not a “black or white issue” and that the government was adopting a “hysterical approach” by saying that what the PN is proposing would be a catastrophe.

Grech too said that the government had not succeeded in identifying new niche markets for the Maltese economy.

“We must find ways of creating the next economy,” said Grech, while pointing out that the economy relies heavily on services, especially those related to tax. He said that politicians had an obligation to look for other sectors and not rely too heavily on existing ones.