The Nationalist Cabinet never discussed any potential deal for purchase of the lease of the contentious Café Premier, according to former tourism minister Mario de Marco.
“No, Café Premier was not discussed by Cabinet during the last legislature,” Dr de Marco said, adding that he had never discussed the issue with the café’s former director.
He was reacting to café director Mario Camilleri’s comments that he met Dr de Marco in the months before the last general election to discuss a purchase deal for the lease on his indebted eatery.
Dr de Marco said he had met Mr Camilleri on two occasions during his term as a parliamentary secretary and as a minister, neither of which had led to a discussion of the establishment’s finances.
One encounter was at a meeting about chairs and tables used by establishments in a square in Valletta, while the other was an official visit to the café’s visitor attraction, he said.
No, no. I can assure you, I never said such a thing
Dr de Marco also recalled that he had once been asked whether the government would consider buying back the café’s emphyteutical concession on a radio interview, to which he said no.
The café has been thrust into the national spotlight in recent days after revelations emerged that the government paid a whopping €4.2 million to purchase back a 50-year lease on the property just days after taking office.
The purchase was scrutinised by the Auditor General, who raised concerns that the government had not included its property division in any negotiations on the purchase.
Mr Camilleri also told this newspaper that Dr de Marco had told him such a deal for a lease purchase could not go ahead because it was “too close to the election” – a claim vehemently denied by the former minister.
“No, no. I can assure you, I never said such a thing,” he said.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat yesterday skirted questions on inconsistencies between a Cabinet memorandum on the purchase and the version of events given by Mr Camilleri. The government memo outlined a possible gas explosion in the café’s kitchen as a main reason for the purchase.
The document raised concerns that such an explosion would likely jeopardise the structure of the National Library above. Mr Camilleri, however, said the kitchen was entirely electrical and used no gas whatsoever.
Pressed on the issue, Dr Muscat yesterday said the purchase was “wider than that” and revolved around important real estate in the centre of Valletta. He was speaking to the press during a visit to an Qormi Primary school, where he gave reporters the ABCs of the café scandal. Dr Muscat conceded that procedural mistakes had been made and said he hoped to learn from any shortcomings.
He also confirmed that the Labour Party had never received any donations from Mr Camilleri, who had said he had only given money to the Nationalist Party.
“I can say that there was no donation given to the Labour Party. We checked our books very thoroughly over the past few days,” he said, declining to comment on revelations that Mr Camilleri had instead given a €1,000 donation to the PN.
Asked about the donation to the PN, former party Secretary General Paul Borg Olivier yesterday said this had come more than a year before the 2013 general election, in May 2012, and with no strings attached. This, he said, was illustrated by the fact that the PN administration had taken action against Mr Camilleri’s business some six months later.
“This donation definitely did not compromise the Nationalist government. So much so, the Lands Department proceeded in view of the arrears accrued,” he said.