Updated | Lands department reform could see public decide on expropiations

Launching a public consultation process on the lands department reform, parliamentary secretary Deborah Schembri said that the proposals under consideration include the possibility of having all applications published online and digitizing the lands registry.

Following the resignation of Michael Falzon following the NAO inquiry on the expropriation of a Valletta property from Marco Gaffarena, government announced a reform in the beleaguered lands department, which is to become an authority.

Robert Musumeci, the government's advisor on planning policies, is to lead the reform and proposed “a clear legal definition” of public purpose when land is expropriated.

While underlining the vagueness of the term under current legislation, Schembri said the process should also look into whether the final decision on expropriations should remain the prerogative of the minister or whether this should be transferred to parliament, the new authority’s governing body or the public.

Musumeci added that land involved in expropriation deals should be evaluated separately by different architects, so as to ensure precision.

Moreover, he said that any citizen should be allowed to take the GPD to court over an expropriation, and that the precursor that currently requires them to have legal interest in the land before opening a case should be removed.

He also recommended the "integration" of the Maltese and Gozitan Lands Offices, the Lands Registry and the Joint Office, so as to "prevent the formation of mini empires".

While Schembri threw her weight behind the need to digitise the department's files, she warned that the digitisation process started by former PN lands minister Jason Azzopardi – subsequently shelved by Michael Falzon – is archaic.

"I have been informed that the digitisation process that commenced under the previous administration was already obsolete when it had started," she said.

She insisted that the majority of GPD employees are willing to see the system revamped.

"While some people call Lands Department workers ‘rats’, I see before me people who are themselves frustrated with the system," she said. "The system has failed the Lands workers as much as it has failed the consumers."

When asked why it took a NAO report into the Gaffarena scandal to convince the government to reform the Lands Department, she hit out at the previous administration.

"Several scandals occurred in the past, but yet the government of the day simply looked the other way and ignored the need to reform the system," she said.

"However, I'm not interested in pointing fingers, but in leaving a legacy in the form of a revamped Lands Authority. We must stop cursing the darkness and start lighting candles."

The public consultation will run between 8 February and 6 March. Recommendations can be sent to [email protected].