The latest investigation by the National Audit Office (NAO) into the 2019 deal involving the Fortina Group is yet another stain on Joseph Muscat's administration, a reminder that the kind of culture it fostered continues to haunt the country. This time, the scandal involves the Lands Authority's decision to waive conditions on public land acquired by Fortina, allowing the company to avoid paying as much as €16 million in compensation owed to the state.

The audit found that Fortina paid just €8.1 million to have all restrictions lifted from parcels of land it had acquired over the years. This discount cleared the way for the development of a lucrative mixed-use, high-rise complex in Sliema. The result was straightforward: the taxpayer was deprived of millions. Public land, which should have been safeguarded for the benefit of all Maltese citizens, was instead turned into a bargain for the well-connected.

This case is not an isolated incident. It sits alongside the hospitals deal and a long list of other murky events that defined the Muscat era.

The NAO report cannot be left to gather dust. Unless the police are already investigating - something the public rarely knows, given the opacity of their work - they must treat this report as a launch-pad for a thorough criminal probe. The meeting with the NAO announced on Friday by the police commissioner should be just the first step towards a deeper look into what really went on. The facts unearthed by the audit raise serious questions that need to be answered. Only a deep investigation, free of political interference, can establish accountability and ensure that anyone responsible faces justice.

The government's reaction has been disappointing, if not alarming. Rather than express outrage at the deceit and manipulation uncovered, the findings were downplayed. The least the country expected was contrition and a firm commitment to seek redress for taxpayers. Instead, we got defensiveness and a denial of a request by the Opposition to have the matter debated in Parliament.

To be fair, the Deputy Prime Minister Ian Borg convened the National Audit Office Accounts Committee to discuss the issue. Earlier, he also declared that "every cent" owed from the Fortina deal must be recovered. His words are welcome, but they will be meaningless unless followed by concrete action. The government has yet to explain how it intends to reclaim the millions lost. The same vagueness surrounds its pledge to claw back €400 million related to the hospitals concession. Words are cheap; what citizens demand is delivery.

Borg has sought to shift responsibility onto officials at the Lands Authority, claiming he and then-parliamentary secretary Chris Agius were misled. That may well be true, but it does not absolve the government of its political responsibility. The Lands Authority is a public body appointed by, and answerable to, the government of the day. Abuse and waste of public land happened under its watch. To pretend otherwise is to insult the intelligence of the Maltese people.

The Opposition is right to demand full transparency, accountability, and radical reform within the Lands Authority. The millions of euros lost in this single deal could have been invested in helping hundreds of families purchase their first home or supporting rent-to-own schemes. As Robert Aquilina of Fondazione Falcone put it, this is theft from the people, and only justice can restore public trust.

At the political level, the government has a chance to show good will. It should immediately re-examine the Fortina deal and, if necessary, amend it or rescind it. If the waivers are to remain, they must be recalculated to reflect the true market value of what was given away. Anything less would mean complicity. Continuing to defend, excuse, or brush aside these scandals ties the present administration to the legacy of Muscat, a legacy that has already caused incalculable harm to Malta's reputation and institutions.

What is most troubling is the Prime Minister's posture of complacency. This does not bode well for a government that claims to be committed to reform. It signals continuity with the worst practices of the past, not a break from them. Abela is too afraid to distance himself from Muscat, given that his predecessor continues to be idolised by the Labour masses.

The NAO report is more than just another document. It is a mirror held up to a political system that has too often acted in the interests of the few, rather than the country. If the government shelves it, then Malta will have learned nothing. The real test is not in what the Prime Minister and his government say, but in what they do: whether they demand accountability, reform the Lands Authority, and recover the millions lost.

The country cannot afford more evasions, more half-measures, more protection of wrongdoing. Justice demands that this scandal be pursued to the end. Anything less would be a betrayal of the people.