Minister ramps up pressure on NAO ‘investigating’ official

The Minister for Justice wants the National Audit Office to reassure that an investigation underway into transfers of land is carried out meticulously.

The request appeared on the Facebook page of Justice Minister Owen Bonnici and refers to a probe he had requested into a number of lands and properties transferred between 2006 and 2013.

Bonnici, who also sits on parliament’s Public Accounts Committee, said he had been “shocked” to see photos on social media, portraying an NAO official with PN MP Jason Azzopardi at a football match.

Azzopardi was the minister for lands under the previous administration.

The contracts to be investigated by the NAO include the land at Tal-Fekruna in Xemxija, a building in Republic Street passed on to HSBC, a property in Spinola Road, St Julian’s and the former brewery in Qormi.

“This is not on,” the Justice Minister commented, over the photo.

The photo uploaded on the social media includes NAO official Antoine Calleja and PN MP Jason Azzopardi

Bonnici insisted that justice “not only must be done; it must also seen to be done”. According to the minister, such action hinders the trust people have in a constitutional institutional, casting doubts on the works carried out by public officials.

“The role of the [NAO] is to scrutinise the work of any politician and the use of public funds. Our duty is to help increase the trust in constitutional institutions, not undermine it,” Bonnici said.

“It’s only natural that I ask: how will I have the peace of mind that the investigation I requested, which includes Jason Azzopardi’s work during his term as minister, will be carried out meticulously?”

The photo of Azzopardi and NAO official Antoine Calleja was picked up by former parliamentary secretary for lands, Michael Falzon, who has complained of investigations being “politically motivated”. Falzon resigned on the back of an investigation by the NAO. Following up on Falzon’s comments, The Malta Independent reported that the NAO had failed to say whether Calleja had been questioned.

The NAO was however quoted as saying that it investigates very allegation made about any NAO official, so that the professionalism and integrity of the work it carries out is safeguarded.