The Maltese are bearing the brunt of a series of scandals characterised by corruption as they are financing questionable deals through their taxes, Nationalist Party leader Simon Busuttil said this morning.

Dr Busuttil was speaking in a telephone interview which aired on his party's Radio 101, and was first asked about what he had described as scandals which stank of corruption.

Noting how the government had effectively gifted Australia Hall and other Pembroke properties to the Labour Party by dropping an eviction case, granted a controversial €4.2 million bailout to the owners of Café Premier and handed over public funds and property worth millions to Mark Gaffarena, he noted that the money involved ultimately had to come from people's taxes.

He noted that children were also suffering as a consequence, noting that the government had stopped the programme of building a new school every year while a number of schools were clearly no longer fit for purpose, noting that the government felt that handing over funds to Mr Gaffarena or Café Premier was more important.

Businesses which acted honestly were also penalised, Dr Busuttil said, noting that the petrol station owned by the Gaffarena family in Qormi has been allowed to operate with impunity despite the presence of illegal constructions on site.

The PN leader also flagged the "blatant" preferential treatment which was in place when it came to handing out government jobs, noting how the teenaged nephew of the Economy Ministry's chief of staff was employed despite lacking qualifications or skills, and even made the director and shareholder of a publicly-owned company.

Preferential treatment was also highlighted when a story revealed by The Malta Independent - about a private citizen who asked the Permanent Commission Against Corruption to investigate the granting of a development permit to Parliamentary Secretary Ian Borg in the hamlet of Santa Katerina in the limits of Rabat - was brought up.

Dr Busuttil questioned how Dr Borg was granted a permit when a previous owner of the same site was turned down, even though both proposals extend the footprint of the built-up area in breach of the planning policy governing the area. He said that the law should be the same for everyone.

The PN leader hailed the courage of the individual who called for the investigation, stating that this was a clear signal that people were getting fed up of the scandals that were taking place.

During the interview, Dr Busuttil referred to another story which appeared on The Malta Independent on Sunday - on the European Central Bank's demand for an explanation after Bank of Valletta issued millions of euros in unsecured loans to Air Malta to cover discrepancies in fuel hedging agreements. He said that BOV had a lot to answer for, also highlighting the unique early retirement package given to Parliamentary Secretary Michael Falzon.

He said that the bank should not lower its standards simply because it was owned by the government, before bringing up the €88 million guarantee provided by the government to enable the bank to issue a €101 million loan to the ElectroGas consortium. He noted that Prime Minister Joseph Muscat did not come to the assistance of other businesses when they ended up in trouble, but had no problem providing such a guarantee since ElectroGas was building a power station he had tied his political career to.

The topic returned to corruption at the end as Dr Busuttil spoke about the investigations into the business involvements of Inspector Roderick Zammit and his brother Daniel Zammit, who was controversially boarded out of the police force within four days.

As he concluded, he noted that so many scandals had occurred even though the government has only spent two years in office, stating that not even the most corrupt of governments - that of former Prime Minister Dom Mintoff and of Public Works Minister Lorry Sant - had stooped so low in its first two years.

Ian Borg denies Busuttil’s allegations

Dr Busuttil’s interview led to a rebuttal from Dr Borg, who said that he categorically denied any allegations the PN leader made.

He said that the Dr Busuttil was completely incorrect in implying that a similar application for the entire site had been refused: the previous application only covered one of the two former farmhouses Dr Borg had acquired.

Dr Borg noted that the person who asked the Permanent Commission Against Corruption to investigate had no connection to his property, although he stressed that he still had every right to request such an investigation.

However, he also said that the same person had tried to block the public from accessing the medieval complex of is-Simblija between Rabat and Dingli, pointing out that at the time, he had worked with other NGOs to ensure that the site could  be accessed.