Prime Minister Robert Abela has lied to the people when he stated yesterday that the Xewkija land bought in 2022 "was the same property bought through several contracts", independent candidate Arnold Cassola said Tuesday.

This is not true, he added in a statement.

This "Ta' Hanzira" plot of land bought in 2022 is totally distinct and separate from the Xewkija property which the Abela spouses had bought in 2012, Cassola contended.

So much so that, as can be seen from the contract of sale of the Ta' Hanzira plot of land, this is a separate property and was only acquired, through a separate and different contract from the 2012 House contract, ten years after the House had been bought, Cassola added.

Abela should also stop playing about with words to dupe people. The Ta' Hanzira contract clearly states that Robert Abela, together with his wife Lydia, is the new owner of the land in question, as from 2022, the statement added.

So, even if the land was paid for with a cheque signed by his wife, half this new 2022 "Ta' Hanzira" property belongs to Robert Abela and should therefore have been noted down in Robert Abela's 2022 declaration of assets.

The fact that a Labour MP had confirmed that "kulħadd jithanzer", does not give Robert Abela any justification to omit the "Ta' Hanzira" land from his declaration of assets, Cassola said.