Opposition MP demands American University answers

The truth behind the construction of a new private university has been revealed, Opposition MP Charlo Bonnici said.

“It will be carried out by a hotel development company, not an educational one,” Bonnici said in his parliamentary adjournment, referring to Sadeen Group, the Jordanian company that signed an agreement with the government last week for the construction of the private ‘American University of Malta’.

“At  the start it appeared as though De Paul would be investing in the university,” Bonnici said, quoting MaltaStar’s description of the University as the ‘De Paul University’. “De Paul had to explain themselves that they will not be involved in operations at the American University of Malta, and will only provide some of the curricula.”

“This is very different to the impression that the government had given.

He pointed out that the American University of Malta will not be associated with any other “American Universities”, such as those in Beirut and Cairo. Moreover, he said that there “is nothing American about this university”.

“What was the US ambassador doing at the signing of the agreement then?” Bonnici questioned.

He asked whether the National Commission for Further and Higher Education will ask Sadeen for proof that they will be allowed to build the university at all, or whether “they are an exception because the government is involved”.

“The government wanted the university to be built in the South, so MEPA identified a massive site of land outside development zones for it,” Bonnici said. “It appears as though the government has already offered money to the private owners of this land. The Prime Minister says that he is open to alternative sites, but he is just laughing in our faces.”

He challenged the government to publish all its agreements with Sadeen Group, to publish MEPA’s preliminary site study that had deemed Zonqor Point an acceptable site for development, to publish a full timeline of the government’s contacts and dealings with Sadeen, to name the Maltese people involved in the negotiations were, and to reveal whether any talks with Sadeen are ongoing for other projects, particularly in the health sector.

He added that hunters who hunt in the area are now also questioning whether they’ll be denied access to this area.

In his adjournment, Opposition MP Stephen Spiteri dismissed the government’s comparison of the American University of Malta with projects completed by previous administrations.

“Thanks to the Ta’ Bakrat sewage plant, the EU has ranked Malta first in waste cleansing, and the coast from Xghajra to the Grand Harbour has now been certified as clean,” Spiteri said. “Smart City was built on an empty industrial site populated by rats, schools were constructed in ODZ lands to invest in the education of posterity, and god forbid we hadn’t constructed the power station in Delimara.”

“We must consider sustainable development and not only the few who will enjoy this project,” he said.  “Is the government considering how much this land truly costs? If it is destroyed, it will be destroyed forever.”