Nationalist MP Jason Azzopardi has accused the government of cutting corners on the investment announced for the former Valletta market, but the government has replied that a resolution will be presented in Parliament once the agreement is concluded.
In comments to the media, Dr Azzopardi said that at the outset, one has to welcome any private investment in the efficient use of public land, more so when it is genuinely directed towards the regeneration of such a landmark site.
However, this appreciation and gratitude should not be taken as giving Government, whichever one (yesterday’s, today’s and tomorrow’s) any carte blanche to ride roughshod over the law. Cutting corners in the allocation of public land invites nefarious consequences, he said.
The law, especially the Disposal of Government Land Act (DGLA), is there specifically to curtail the possibility of abuse with the most precious resource we possess in this country, namely public land. In particular, it safeguards, albeit with a certain amount of inevitable bureacracy, the taxpayer from abuse of any disposal of public land by Government, and in particular guarantees transparency and fairness in any disposal. That is why this law prohibits any disposal of public land unless done either by Parliamentary Resolution or after a public call for tenders.
“I can state that during my time as responsible for Lands, and I know that this is the advice that all my living predecessors were always given by the Commissioners of Lands and the Attorney General, it was always stated to me quite categorically that no Request for Proposals (RFP) and no Expression of Interest (EOI) satisfied the requirements of the DGLA. Thus, whilst RFPs and EOIs were issued along the years, the disposal of the land always took place by a subsequent public call for tenders.
“I am not privy to all the details surrounding today’s news of the allocation by Government to the private sector of the Valletta indoor market, definitely an historical site occupying prime site in our capital city which brings with it significant potential for return on capital. Thus I can only go as far as my previous experience and knowledge of the law regulating disposal of public land allows me.
“However, the news that the allocation was not made by neither a public call for tenders nor by a Parliamentary Resolution raises several questions.
“Definitely, it would be most interesting to know if the Attorney General’s advice was sought before granting public land through an RFP. If such advice was sought and was in the affirmative, then I would be very curious to know on what basis and why is this advice diametrically opposed to the one myself and all my predecessors were given in that no public land can be disposed of except after a public call for tender.”
In reaction, the government said that the Opposition does not know that a resolution on transfer of land is presented in Parliament only when negotiations are concluded. The resolution will be presented in Parliament when the talks are finalised but before the signing of the contract.