The Prime Minister was trying to deceive people when he said that he would reverse the Gaffarena Old Mint Street expropriation deal if wrongdoing was found because no Prime Minister had the power to cancel a signed contract, PN Whip David Agius said this evening.
Speaking during adjournment time, Mr Agius said only the courts could declare a contract null and void.
The Old Mint Street scandal, he said, is so huge that it has dominated the headlines every day since the original story was broken. The government cannot but shoulder the political responsibility.
Joseph Muscat has to be honest about this. Does the PM not even have the decency to suspend anyone related to this case? Is this a case of a government that let power get to its head because it won the last election by a wide margin?
The owner of the Bahar ic-Caghaq land given to Gaffarena went to Gozo only to find it destroyed when he came back. He was then told by the lands department that he was not taking care of the land. This served as an excuse for the government to take the land away and give it to Gaffarena. How have we come to this in just two years?
Turning to the Zonqor university, Mr Agius asked if it was a coincidence that the chosen site included land owned by people close to the Labour Party. He also criticized the €88 million government guarantee for the loan taken out by Electrogas for the new power station.
“We have already ended up in such a sorry state in the space of two years. The question is where will we be a couple of years down the line? It is no wonder that government MP Marlene Farrugia said ministers will be puppets on a string with the introduction of the new code of ethics.”
These are the scandals of the CNL’s 4th floor – the scandals of those who gave to the PL and now expect to see a return. He criticised the manipulation of the army, the police force and the civil protection department and spoke about the huge sums of money given to friends of the PL. “Sai Mizzi will have earnt over €1 million by the end of this legislature.”