Give to Caesar what is Caesar's, state property unit head insists

The Government Property Division (GPD)hopes to upgrade its outdated computerised system to finally get a clear picture of assets that are rented and of any pending expropriations.

"We cannot remain in a situation where the government doesn't know what property it owns... We need to upgrade our system," GPD director general designate, Paul Miruzzi told The Times.

Since his appointment three months ago, Mr Miruzzi has embarked on an enforcement crusade aimed at ensuring that government property is not abused.

The campaign started at the beginning of summer when Land Department officials and the police intervened to physically remove street furniture not covered by a permit in Sliema, Marsaxlokk, Birżebbuġa, Marsascala, Xlendi and Marsalforn.

The department recently carried out a number of evictions and removed squatters who were occupying government buildings.

Evidently, having a clear understanding of the government's property is a priority, Mr Miruzzi stressed as he explained that when the Parliamentary Secretary for Land, Jason Azzopardi assumed responsibility for the GPD he insisted on the upgrading of the system that has been in place since about 1991.

Meetings were held between the division and Mitts (Malta Information Technology and Training Services) and it was decided that, next year, if funds were available, works would "hopefully" start on the upgrading of the land management system and geographic information system that are somewhat outdated.

Until then, Mr Miruzzi and his team have embarked on an enforcement campaign. He is also working to ensure that the division has the necessary human resources.

Up till a few months ago, the division had only one enforcement officer. There are now two but the plans are to have at least three teams each made up of about two enforcement officers.

Calls for applications have been issued for various positions within the division in order to build a stronger team that would enable efficient enforcement. Mr Miruzzi explained that when the enforcement campaign kicked off this summer, the department started out by serving establishments with a notice giving them 15 days to comply with their permit conditions.

"We tried to act in a civil manner but practically no one took any notice, so we had to resort to harsher measures," Mr Miruzzi said.

Now a series of harsher measures are being implemented and establishments found in breach of their encroachment permits have their permit revoked and are slapped with a €1,000 administrative fee, which is paid on the application for a new permit.

They also have to cover the costs of the enforcement operation, apart from having the furniture confiscated. Mr Miruzzi added that, at times, enforcement action at bars and restaurants had to take place during peak hours, at night, since that was when the infringement was taking place.

"We've had a very positive response from the public about this action... The public clearly wants the law to be enforced.

"They want to be able to walk on a pavement without being obstructed by tables and chairs... If the property belongs to the government people cannot just do what they like. We want to pass on the message that rules are there to be observed and that we mean business," he said.