Parliamentary Secretary Ian Borg said that he has is “looking forward” to the Commission Against Corruption investigation conclusions into development permits for property that he owns.
He was reacting to an article published yesterday onThe Malta Independent on Sunday, which revealed that the Office of the Ombudsman found that Dr Borg employed a “devious method” in applying for a development permit for a property in Rabat where the application listed his father and a project manager as the property’s owners instead of himself. Dr Borg is the owner of the said property.
The Ombudsman’s report also found that the Development Permit Application Report (DPAR) drawn up by a Malta Environment and Planning Authority case officer contained a “series of omissions and variation in the text” that “cannot be put down to human error but point to a deliberate attempt to remove the one remaining obstacle potentially blocking approval of the application”.
Contacted by this newsroom for a reaction to the Ombudsman’s report, he said: “I never had any qualms with the fact that an investigation would be carried out to look into the matter. From the very first day when the allegations surfaced I had said this.
“I always made it known that the application was mine from day one when I was contacted by The Malta Independent because I have nothing to hide.”
“The Ombudsman looked into the process used by Mepa in this case and Mepa has reacted to the report by sending a right of reply. The investigation involving Mepa was investigated by the Environment Commissioner.
“On the other hand, I am being investigated by the Permanent Commission against Corruption and I look forward to the conclusions of its investigation,” he said.
What triggered the investigations
The separate investigations by the Ombudsman and the Permanent Commission Against Corruption came after Noel Ciantar, a Rabat farmer who is also qualified as an accountant, carried out his own investigation into the redevelopment of a rural property.
He set out on his investigation of Dr Borg after reports on the proposed development in the limits of Rabat surfaced on the media, alleging that planning policies were breached to allow the redevelopment of the site by Dr Borg.
The case concerns a piece of property in picturesque Santa Katerina, on the boundary between Rabat and Dingli.
The Ombudsman report has now been handed over to the Permanent Commission Against Corruption for any action it may deem fit to take. Due to the fact that both the Office of the Ombudsman and the Permanent Commission Against Corruption were investigating similar complaints, meetings were held with the respective chairmen to coordinate progress and define the parameters of the respective investigations.
As a result, it was agreed that the Office of the Ombudsman would issue a report covering aspects of procedures and application of policy, while the Commission would investigate matters dealing with responsibility and shortcomings, if any, of the persons concerned.