The Nationalist Party has strongly rejected claims that it voted in favour of granting public land in Mellieħa to private interests, describing them as "fake news" and accusing Economy Minister Silvio Schembri of misleading the Standards Commissioner in an attempt to shift responsibility away from himself and the Labour Government.
The PN was referring to an article on talk.mt, which said that PN MP Rebekah Borg had voted in favour, not once, but twice, of granting public land in Mellieha to developers.
In reaction to the "misleading information" that the PN said Minister Schembri submitted to the Standards Commissioner in a report regarding a serious conflict of interest concerning himself, it condemned the Minister's attempt to shift blame onto the Opposition "in order to save himself."
In reaction to the article, the PN said that "Nationalist MP Rebekah Borg - who at the time was the Opposition's spokesperson for Lands - was not even present at the meeting where the Lands Authority approved the transfer of public land in Mellieħa to a private company, as confirmed by the official minutes. Therefore, she could never have voted in favour," the PN said.
It said that it is futile for Schembri to attempt to pin the blame on others in this case by hiding behind the Lands Authority, when the Government - and he himself as Minister - hold absolute control over it.
"In fact, out of ten members of the Lands Authority Board, nine are under the control of the Labour Government, with only one appointed by the Opposition. It is an insult to the intelligence of the Maltese people for the Minister to claim that he had no control over the Authority or no involvement because the Board is 'autonomous,'" it said.
It said that Schembri's control was so absolute that the Secretary of the Board was in fact his own Chief of Staff.
Furthermore, the PN said that the Board does not decide policy matters, and in this case there were also two meetings that reviewed the technical evaluation of the land - a process that may be carried out for various reasons by different architects.
The statement said that this was approved by the Board members, all of whom voted in favour.
"All this took place within the context of an Authority notorious for its secrecy, even towards its own Board members," the PN said.
The PN said it expects a higher standard of politics, not a spin and baseless mudslinging.
"The truth is clear: the government decided to hand over a green lung in Mellieħa to private interests under dubious conditions; something which certainly did not have the backing of the Opposition's representative at the time, nor of PN's local councillors in Mellieħa," it said.
The PN said that when this case occurred, the Mellieħa Local Council at the time, led by a Labour majority, remained completely silent and did not object in any way to what was happening.
"This stands in stark contrast to the action taken by PN councillors and MPs representing the residents of Mellieħa. As soon as the PN won the majority in Mellieħa, the PN-led Council objected to the application for this development and filed a legal appeal against it," it said.
The PN said that it has always believed, and will continue to believe, in the importance of open spaces, the environment, and residents' well-being.
"The PN is committed to continue working to ensure that our communities have more green spaces, not see them handed over abusively by a government that places the interests of the few above the common good," it said.