The Investment, Industry and Technology Ministry “noted with satisfaction” that the Labour opposition was no longer insisting that the government present a motion in Parliament on the land Maltacom owns in Qawra.

The MLP, it said, had withdrawn its claim after the ministry had accused the Opposition Leader of knowing that such a resolution would have meant that the land, where Maltacom has its exchange, would have been passed on to the company free of charge.

The ministry also noted that the withdrawal was not made by Alfred Sant but by deputy leader Charles Mangion, who appealed to the government to do all it could for the land to be returned to the people.

Dr Mangion knew that the government had already taken the matter to court in November, and considering that no agreement had as yet been reached, had requested the advice of the Attorney General to see how it should proceed following the privatisation agreement with Tecom.

In reply, Dr Mangion said that the government seemed confused about the matter. The MLP continues to insist that what belongs to the people should be returned to them, and it was in this light that the MLP is supporting the government on the issue.

What remains to be done is for the government to take the initiative to implement what it had promised in Parliament, Dr Mangion said. The parliamentary motion is only part of the process that had to be completed within six months of the transfer of Maltacom shares so that the land is returned to the people. The government had failed to present the motion to which it had agreed in the contract it signed.

Legal action taken by the government indicates that there are problems the government had not anticipated when it sold Maltacom. The new owners of Maltacom consider the land as part of their assets from the statements they are making, Dr Mangion said.