Labour: Jason Azzopardi must shoulder responsibility for ‘suspicious’ land transfers

The Labour Party wants Opposition leader Simon Busuttil to walk the walk on his political commitment towards good governance, for former lands minister Jason Azzopardi to shoulder responsibility for irregular land transfers highlighted by the National Audit Office.

“The Auditor General has not only alluded but stated, in the simplest of terms, that Azzopardi has to shoulder responsibility,” junior minister for planning Deborah Schembri said.

The Auditor General issued a damning indictment of the government’s acquisition of the former HSBC bank properties on Republic Street in Valletta in 2011, arguing that there was a lack of transparency and “unwarranted” intervention by the Office of the Prime Minister.

READ MORE 2011 HSBC property acquisition ‘lacked transparency’, OPM intervention ‘unwarranted’ • NAO finds gross negligence in 2009 transfer of former Lowenbrau land

At the time, Tonio Fenech was Minister for Finance whilst Jason Azzopardi was responsible of lands. In its findings, the NAO argued that the identification of the properties lacked the transparency ensured through a more open process of acquisition. The NAO did not obtain conclusive evidence as to whether political pressure was exerted; however, it noted interventions made by several, including then Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi and Azzopardi. “Aside from the OPM’s initial role, interventions by the Prime Minister and the Parliamentary Secretary Revenues and Land made later on in the process, despite the concerns raised by the Permanent Secretary MFEI, were noted”.

According to the NAO, the interventions were intended to see the acquisition through following a reduction in price by HSBC, which reduction was perceived as addressing the concerns raised by the finance ministry’s permanent secretary. “The NAO considers the decision to overrule the permanent secretary as within the remit of the Finance Minister [Tonio Fenech] and the parliamentary secretary [Jason Azzopardi].”

Justice minister Owen Bonnici said in a press conference that Jason Azzopardi had no credibility to criticise anyone over good governance, after having presided over an election-eve land transfer deal at Xemxija’s il-Fekruna.  “These two new NAO reports also deal with land valued at €8 million in Qormi, given away for €700,000 to a PN benefactor, and for this Azzoparid must shoulder responsibility.”

The two audits by the NAO, tabled in the House on Monday, concluded that the transfer of the land of the former Lowenbrau brewery in Qormi in 2009 had been negligent and of the gravest concern, highlighting the failure in terms of good governance, accentuated by “the extraordinary haste of the process”, which should have involved – but did not – various ministers and even parliamentary intervention.

The plot of land at Ta’ L-Istabal, Qormi, measuring approximately 21,000 square metres, was granted to Löwenbräu Ltd and authorised directly by the Minister for Economic Affairs, justified in terms of the economic benefit that was to be generated.