PN want Ian Borg's resignation over Rabat property case

Prime Minister Joseph Muscat must sack parliamentary secretary Ian Borg if he wants to live up his own pledges, the Nationalist Party said today.

Addressing a press conference at the PN’s headquarters, deputy leader Beppe Fenech Adami and planning spokesman Ryan Callus insisted that Borg’s position was no longer tenable after an Ombudsman's report claimed that Borg used a "devious" method to obtain the MEPA permit.

The case revolves around a development application for the parliamentary secretary's property in Rabat and a report by the Ombudsman that exposed planning duplicity.

Both reports compiled by the Permanent Commission Against Corruption and the Ombudsman’s report will be tabled this evening in parliament. Two days before Christmas, Borg called a press conference during which he gave journalists a copy of the report that cleared him of corruption.

"We found no proof that a crime or attempt to commit a crime took place, according to Malta's corruption laws," the Commission - chaired by retired judge Lawrence Quintano - said in its conclusion. The Commission, which included Yana Micallef Stafrace and judge emeritus Joe Cassar, also endorsed the conclusions and recommendations made by the Ombudsman in his report.

During the press conference, Fenech Adami insisted that it was time for Muscat to start acting.

“Muscat must walk the talk if he wants people to really believe that he is against corruption,” he said.

Fenech Adami that while Muscat should fire Borg, the junior minister should shoulder responsibility and resign.

“The longer he takes to decide the more Muscat shows that he is weak and does not have the courage to take action against chosen individuals,” he claimed.

Callus referred to the report of the Ombudsman which noted that MEPA had refused a permit to a certain Kevin Bugeja to construct a new dwelling on the site a year before the same land was acquired by Borg. In its refusal for Bugeja's permit, MEPA noted that the local plan for small hamlets does not permit new developments that take up "fresh land, notwithstanding the location of the site in relation to existing buildings".

The Ombudsman's report claimed that Borg used a "devious" method to obtain the MEPA permit for the property by listing his father and a project manager as owners of the property.

However, Borg claimed that this was an entirely normal process and criticised the Planning Ombudsman David Pace for describing it as devious without even investigating him.

"The main reason I listed my father and the project manager was because I am far too busy with my work and they have more time on their hands to deal with the development application than I do.

"I also didn't want to use my name to influence the process in any way."