KSU not authorised to rent parts of Students’ House – Auditor General

An investigation commissioned by the parliamentary Public Accounts Committee into commercial rental of parts of Students' House by KSU to third parties has found out that KSU was never granted any title over the conceded property and therefore it was not in a position to lease out parts of the property.

The Auditor General not only pointed out the wrongdoing of the KSU, but also pointed out shortcomings by the University of Malta for failing to regularise the position over the years.

The investigation also revealed deficiencies in the manner with which KSU managed the leasing function, with processes deployed not being best practice and not being conducive to accountability and transparency. 

The Auditor General also reported on UoM's reluctance to deploy a control and monitoring function to ensure its property, as conceded to KSU, is being made good use of.

The Auditor General recommended that steps be immediately taken to ensure the status quo does not prevail, and that a regularisation process be embarked upon. 

"Apart from the definition of a legal framework, an administrative supporting framework and a set of documented procedures should be designed and deployed," the report states.

On a wider scale, the report also voiced the NAO's concern that the Disposal of Government Land Act did not preclude autonomous publicbodies from disposing of immovable assets without the monitoring of competent authorities.

The investigation was prompted upon request of Labour MP Owen Bonnici who had insisted that government rules were not followed in the granting of Students' House to the KSU.

But in a reaction, the students' council had taken umbrage at Bonnici's request dubbing it as "an unnecessary attack on the autonomy and integrity of not just KSU, but also the numerous student organisations which are housed in Students' House".