Speaker of the House Anglu Farrugia said that he has stayed out of the Monti relocation controversy but insisted that the Commissioner of Police did tell him that the proposed hawkers’ close-proximity to the new parliament building plan poses a security risk.

In an interview with The Malta Independent, Dr Farrugia explained that if it is decided that hawkers position themselves so close to the new parliament building, this will create an additional hurdle in the event something does go wrong.

“I have trust in our Commissioner and left it in his hands to tackle the matter. Even the government acknowledges this may pose a security risk. We are speaking about the highest institution of the country here,” he said.

On the day of the interview with Dr Farrugia - just a few days before today’s inauguration of the new iconic Renzo Piano building - police presence both inside and outside the building was heavy.

When asked why security concerns were raised so late in the day when the works started ages ago, Dr Farrugia said that the issue was initially raised during a House Business Committee meeting.

“The issue of whether people should be allowed access to the open space underneath the building cropped up,” he said.

 “We are not saying that people should be denied access, since there will be police presence, but what is for sure is that no security risk assessment was conducted on this building.

“When the issue was discussed, it resulted that the security risks of this building are enormous. Therefore, I discussed the issue at length with the Commissioner of Police and both the parliamentary groups, especially in the light of the fact that so many high-profile individuals will be present in the building.

“We are not exactly living serene times, evident from the security alerts which have been raised in countries surrounding us. I have to safeguard this parliament building; it is my duty to do so.

“I am not trying to alarm people but we cannot take things for granted,” he said, making reference to the attacks on the Twin Towers in the US which caused them to collapse. “It only takes one isolated incident for disaster to strike,” he continued.

He said that bollards are an essential component of site-wide security - but the simplest of security measures was not thought of.

Speaker of the House Anglu Farrugia said that he hasn’t been handed a single copy of the new parliament building’s contractual works, including maintenance and IT system-related agreements.

“I haven’t been handed any copies of these contractual agreements; I am no technical expert, I am a lawyer by profession. I want to ensure that on the day I am given the official handover, on 4 May, I would at least have the relevant documents. I believe that some sort of maintenance agreement does exist,” Dr Farrugia said last week.

Now that Dr Farrugia’s has stepped into his ‘dream’ building a month ago, he can now breathe a sigh of relief. But if it weren’t for his constant pressure to set a deadline to enter the new building, things would have procrastinated.

“It became apparent that if I did not push for a definite deadline once and for all, there would have been further delays. We were meant to move into the new building at least twice before but this did not materialise.

“The important thing is that the plenary and the standing committees are functioning. Other works can continue in the meantime. This is a decision I took and would like to thank both parliamentary groups for their cooperation,” he said.

Asked whether he saw a lack of interest from the side of certain individuals, he said that without going into the merits of ministers, the government as a whole or the GHRC – the company responsible for the parliament project, the Speaker said that “now that we are inside the building, both my staff and me have absolute control of it and therefore we can push for things to be done more efficiently”.

Symbolic moment planned at today’s much-awaited opening

Regarding the much-awaited opening of the new parliament building to be held today, he said that the opening will be an interesting one and will reflect a historical moment where the key to the palace (muftieh in Maltese) will be handed over to the members of the Police Force (who will be entrusted with the security of the new parliament building) by members of the Armed Forces.

The palace which hosted parliament, he explained, was always in the custody of the army and as a symbol of the move from the old parliament to the new one, the ceremony will include this symbolic ‘key’ handover moment.

“Besides, the old parliament building deserves to be saluted – in use since 1976 - and so does the Tapestry Chamber which served as the premises for parliamentary work between 1921 and 1976.

“We will then walk to the new parliament building where the handover from the GHRC will take place,” he said.

Reiterating his call for further autonomy, he said he believes the public deserves to have a TV channel airing plenary sessions without having to pay for the service. Currently, sittings are streamed live.

As for parking facilities, he lamented the fact that such facilities were not thought of. He said that it could be the case that the Central Bank’s surroundings could be used as parking facilities, along with a part of Ordnance Street.

New building a ‘quantum leap’

Dr Farrugia described the fact that Malta now has its own parliament building as a “quantum leap”.

“We are one of the few countries in Europe, if not the only one, which did not have a building which is used specifically for plenary sessions,” he said.

“One of the international parliamentary guidelines calls for European countries to have a parliamentary building and not form part of shared premises,” he explained.

Gonzi controversy

Asked for his reaction on the decision taken by former Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi to turn down an invitation by Prime Minister Joseph Muscat to officiate at the opening ceremony of the new parliament building, he said: “I have great respect for Lawrence Gonzi, who also served as Speaker of the House.

“I feel he took the right decision when he said that the President of the Republic and the President of the House should officiate at the opening ceremony,” he said.

While on the subject, Dr Farrugia made reference to Dr Gonzi’s work when he (Gonzi) served as Speaker, highlighting that he gave a staggering 61 rulings during his term and was responsible for certain parliamentary reforms such as the introduction of Standing Committees. To date, Dr Farrugia said, there are a total 11 standing committees as a result and they keep sprouting.

During Monday’s opening, it is expected that Dr Gonzi, Renzo Piano - the architect of the building - and architect Antonio Belvedere, who coordinated works, will be present. However, due to the fact that the area hosting members of the public in the new building’s chamber can only take up to 150 people, members of parliament have been asked not to invite their spouses or relatives for the inauguration.

Former GHRC CEO says previous administration did not view public access to new parliament as a threat

Chris Paris who served as Chief Executive Officer of the Grand Harbour Regeneration Corporation – the company responsible for capital projects, including the new parliament building but whose contract as CEO expired - said that the previous administration did not view the fact that people will be given access to parts of new parliament building as a threat.

The security concern, he said, was only raised recently during a House Business Committee session.

When asked why the simplest of measures, such as the use of bollards, was not implemented to stop vehicles dead in their tracks, he said that bollards were installed on the building’s bridge and other surrounding areas but not at ground level. He once again insisted that the security issue only cropped up recently.