PN insists Ian Borg’s position is no longer tenable

The Nationalist Party insists that Parliamentary Secretary Ian Borg should still shoulder political responsibility after the Permanent Commission Against Corruption said that it “endorsed” the report presented by the Ombudsman regarding MEPA permits issued for a property owned by Borg in Rabat.

In a press briefing, Shadow Minister for Home Affairs Beppe Fenech Adami said that Ian Borg’s position is no longer tenable.

He explained that it was very worrying to see how the Ombudsman’s report remarked how Borg purchased the property in “strange and devious methods.” He said that “devious” is a very strong word which the Ombudsman used. 

Fenech Adami referred to Borg’s decision to apply for development permits under someone else’s name.

“For this fact, Borg gave two different explanations. First that he did not have time to apply himself, and later, when pressed by the media, he explained that he did not issue the permit in his name because people would say he got the permissions needed because of his position.”

Fenech Adami insited, “its because of his public position that Borg should have been more transparent.”

"The Commission Against Corruption said that was no corruption involved, in legal terms. But this is not a criminal case, but a political one," Fenech Adami said. 

He noted that one should distinguish between what the Commission Against Corruption said and what is mentioned in the Ombudsman's report. 

Yesterday, the Permanent Commission Against Corruption said it "found no proof that a crime or attempt to commit a crime took place, according to Malta's corruption laws".