The government has given Mark Gaffarena two parcels of land in the limits of Zebbug, located behind another piece of land Gaffarena was squatting in at Qormi and on which he illegally built an entertainment venue, the Nationalist Party said this morning. The illegal commercial activity taking place on the land where Gaffarena is squatting in is known as Cavett Place. The Zebbug plots and the Qormi plots are a stone’s throw away from each other.
Addressing a press conference on site, spokesman Jason Azzopardi said the land in question lies between Zebbug and Qormi in what is known as the Handaq area.
The land was passed on to Gaffarena at half of its market value, Dr Azzopardi continued. He said that independent architects have valued the plots given to Gaffarena for more than double the Lands Department valued the plots.
Dr Azzopardi said that the Qormi plots were valued at €192,000 but independent architects have valued the plots at €410,000. The size of the land is 10,000 square metres.
As for the Zebbug plots, the Lands Department valued them at €375,000 but independent architects gave them a value of €815,000. The size of the plots is a total 25,000 square metres.
Gaffarena has already been named in other shady deals that the government said it is now investigating. He has been allotted land in Bahar ic-Caghaq at a higher value that estimated by the government, as well as property in Old Mint Street in Valletta, the White Rocks and in Sliema.
MP Ryan Callus said that it is not a civil servant who signs off a deal of this sort but a politician, asking whether it is the Prime Minister himself who gave the green light and signed off the deal. “If it is not him who did so, then he has to say who the politician is,” he continued.
PN MP Marthese Portelli said the pieces of land in question were not chosen coincidentally but were chosen by persons who have a hidden interest.
“Instead the government made sure it regularises the position of the squatter, it has awarded a title of land to the squatter, that is Gaffarena,” she said.
Cavett’s Place, also known as Taċ-Ċavett had been served with an enforcement notice by the planning authority in 2012.
The enforcement notice had been served on Gaffarena as the contravener but to no avail. Mr Gaffarena is also one of the owners of the controversial Gaffarena petrol station in Qormi which was given a ‘temporary’ permit to operate in spite of being developed illegally.
Photos and Video: Jonathan Borg