It is quite unbelievable that no action has been taken against a minister who made certain declarations before the court which the court deemed “hard to believe.”

This refers, of course, to Infrastructure Minister Ian Borg and his purchase of a particular field in Dingli.

The case dealt with the sale of a piece of land in Dingli back in 2014, by a man with mental health issues to then Parliamentary Secretary Ian Borg. Mark Farrugia had filed a libel case against Rachel Attard, Stephen Calleja and David Lindsay on behalf of The Malta Independent on Sunday over an article titled ‘Family incensed as PS buys land from mentally-ill father’ that was published in 2015. Farrugia was one of the middlemen in the sale. The court, presided over by Magistrate Victor Axiak, ruled in favour of The Malta Independent, which was represented by lawyer Peter Fenech.

Among other things, the court found it very difficult to believe that Ian Borg, who admitted to knowing Scicluna for around 18 years and knew of his problems with his family, could not then know of the state of his mental health. This implies that Borg knew that the man he was dealing with had certain mental health issues, and the implication is that he took advantage of him.

It is pertinent to note that Borg was Mayor of Dingli in the past.

Now, Borg has argued that the most important point from the sentence is that it is not true that the middleman took the person who had sold him the land – Anthony Scicluna – drinking before the deal was signed. He also defended himself by saying that he had signed three contracts with this same person – a contract before the one mentioned in the article with his mother and 14 siblings, the contract which was the subject of the article, and another contract with his mother and 14 siblings, saying that it was not for him to say there was a problem when his family hadn’t over the others.

The fact that the court did not believe the testimony of the minister however, is a very concerning point and action needs to be taken. Borg has refused to resign over the issue.

The Prime Minister yesterday refused to comment at this time. He said that he will only comment after the period allowing for a possible appeal comes to a close, or if an appeal is filed, after it concludes.

There is a difference between legal responsibility and political responsibility. At this moment in time, the latest court decision found that Borg did not give a credible statement to the court. This is a very serious concern. Political responsibility needs to be shouldered.

Malta’s name has been dragged through the mud more than enough over the past years due to the inaction of politicians at the top when it comes to refusing to shoulder political responsibility.

We demand better from those representing the public. The country deserves to be represented by politicians who do not have a shadow cast over them. Malta has gotten too used to scandal over the years and people have become accustomed to letting things slide. It’s time to change things and turn this sentiment around.