Busuttil says Ombudsman report enough to sack Ian Borg

The Ombudsman’s report which revealed how junior minister Ian Borg employed “devious methods” to get a permit for his properties in Rabat is enough for him to be sacked, Opposition leader Simon Busuttil said today.

Speaking during a fundraising marathon held by the Nationalist Party, Busuttil took Prime Minister Joseph Muscat to task for standing by Borg, arguing that “the rule of law applies to everyone, except Ian Borg.”

“The Ombudsman’s report said that a permit for the development of a farmhouse owned by Ian Borg should have never been issued and that it had been issued in a deceitful manner. This is enough proof for Muscat to sack Borg, without waiting for the report by the Commission for the Investigation of Corruption,” Busuttil underlined.

The PN leader argued that the Ombudsman report found that Borg’s permit for the construction of two dwellings had been issued following a “grave error” by the planning authority. The Ombudsman also claimed that Borg, the parliamentary secretary for EU funds, used a “devious method” to get the MEPA permit by using his father’s name and a project manager to appear as the property’s owners.

Borrg, who initially told reports he would go ahead with the works before backtracking and suspending works, is currently facing an investigation by the Corruption Commission and despite the mounting pressure, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat has stood by his youngest Cabinet member, claiming that the report of the Ombudsman was “full of inaccuracies.”

But Busuttil insisted that the corruption probe was not needed and that the Ombudsman’s report is enough to merit a suspension.

“Nevertheless, the least Borg could have done was to suspend himself pending the investigation by the Corruption Commission, but the laws that which are expected of the PN, apparently, do not apply to them,” Busuttil said.

“The law is there for everyone except for Ian Borg and Michael Falzon, who seven months on is yet to be sacked over his involvement in the Gaffarena scandal,” he continued.

Busuttil also said that the good governance document issued by the Nationalist Party had been welcomed positively and showed that the PN is playing a vital role in parliament. He also welcomed comments made by President of the Republic Marie Louise Coleiro Preca on the behaviour of politicians and their continuous arguments, insisting that the PN wants to restore the public’s trust in politics.