Parliamentary Secretary Michael Falzon’s position is no longer tenable and the Prime Minister has to act immediately, shadow minister for justice Jason Azzopardi said today.

Addressing a press conference, Dr Azzopardi said Michael Falzon cannot be believed when he said he did not know about the deal with Mark Gaffarena over property and land transfer.

He showed journalists excerpts from interviews in which Dr Falzon admitted that he met Mark Gaffarena at his office and that he had gone hunting abroad with him in 2003. He insisted that at the time he had no intention of contesting the general election. But Dr Azzopardi pointed out that Michael Falzon was PL Deputy Leader.  

When, some time ago, Dr Falzon had been approached by Mr Gaffarena about the latter’s property, instead of chucking him out of the office, Dr Falzon sent Mr Gaffarena to the Lands Department where the former made his requests. There he was accompanied by Clint ‘The King of Lands’ Scerri. Later on, he signed both documents related to the expropriation of the property owned by Gaffarena. “It is clear that Michael Falzon was aware of the process from start to end. Michael Falzon and Joseph Muscat have to shoulder the political responsibility. This happened under their very noses – this process that stinks of corruption,” Dr Azzopardi said.

PN MP Ryan Callus noted how the administration of the Lands Department is made up of persons appointed by the Labour government. Former lands commissioner Joe Bugeja had resigned because of political interference. His successor was chosen by this government, he said.

He referred to a report in the Times today, which said that, just three days after Mark Gaffarena offered to sell the State a quarter of a Valletta property he did not yet own, government architects were already assessing land he would receive in return as part-payment. This showed, Mr Callus said, that the government architects had already carried out their estimates on the Bahar ic-Caghaq land before Gaffarena had even purchased the second part of the Old Mint Street property. The property was given to him as part of the second expropriation deal.  “The timing is too perfect to be a coincidence. This was not a mistake, as the Prime Minister wants us to think. Everything was thought through beforehand.”

Asked to explain the expropriation process, Jason Azzopardi said the principal rule is that no negotiations should take place, unless this was a highly complex case. The government was also expected to pay in cash, not in land. When that happened, the lands were chosen by the government, not the other party.

Asked by this paper what the PN would do if corruption was confirmed and the government failed to act, Dr Azzopardi said the party would first wait for the outcome of the investigation being carried out by the Auditor General, which it requested. “We are an open party. We made our request to the AG public and you know what the terms of reference we requested are. On the other hand we do not know what the terms of the government-appointed IAID investigation are, besides the fact that the law states that the outcome of that inquiry cannot be published.”

Dr Azzopardi said the Auditor General had the power to refer the case to the police. He said it was scandalous that the police was not investigating the case with the excuse that it does not have a formal report. “We are in an absurd situation where the police tell you that they cannot investigate without a report. The police are legally obliged to investigate suspicious cases, even if they haven’t received a report."

He confirmed a statement made by PN Whip David Agius yesterday, who said the PM misled the public because he cannot cancel a signed contract. Dr Azzopardi said only a court could do that. When asked who, in that case, would have to challenge the contract and launch a court case, Dr Azzopardi said it could either be the Lands Commissioner, as the most interested party, the Attorney General or any Member of Parliament.