Open or not? Part of the backdrop used during dialogue sessions. Photo: Darrin Zammit Lupi

Members of the public wanting to take part in dialogue meetings with government minsters and parliamentary secretaries have had their questions vetted beforehand and told not to raise certain issues.

This happened to two businessmen who had booked seats for Thursday’s session with planning parliamentary secretary Michael Falzon, who is embroiled in a controversy over the expropriation of a Valletta property.

The two businessmen were told by an official from the OPM not to ask questions about the Land Department, which falls within Mr Falzon’s portfolio.

“I had booked a seat to attend the session with Dr Falzon. In the afternoon, I was contacted by a government official from the OPM telling me clearly not to ask questions about the Land Department,” a 45-year old developer, who wished to remain anonymous, said.

“When I asked why, the official told me that the OPM did not want the dialogue session to turn into a political meeting on the ongoing issue at the department.”

Another participant who attended on Thursday evening recounted the same “odd” phone call. “When I booked, I told them that I wanted to ask about an issue I had with the Land Department. On Thursday, a few hours before the meeting, I received a call from an official telling me that issues on Mepa and the Land Department were out of bounds,” the 56-year old businessmen from Mellieħa said.

I was contacted by a government official from the OPM telling me clearly not to ask questions about the Land Department

“It seems that this whole exercise is one big joke. I won’t bother going next time round,” he complained.

This newspaper is informed that the OPM’s direct intervention in the set-up and organisation of the dialogue sessions – which are dubbed Gvern li Jisma (a government that listens) – was not restricted to the one held by Dr Falzon.

Other participants confirmed they had received similar phone calls from the OPM on what they should and should not ask. A journalist from Times of Malta yesterday called the freephone number at the OPM and posed as an ordinary citizen booking a seat for the Prime Minister’s session scheduled for July 2.

After taking down the booking and the telephone number, the person manning the phone asked whether a question would be asked and in that case what the question would be.

Asking whether there were any restrictions to the kind of questions that would be taken by the Prime Minister, the receptionist said: “You can ask what you want but it is up to the secretariat [OPM] to see whether to accept the question or not.”

“When you come they will inform you whether you can ask the question or not. They will tell you. I don’t know who they’ll be. They might call you beforehand.”

Asked for comment, the Prime Minister’s spokesman said the newspaper’s information was incorrect.

“No questions were stopped by any OPM official and the public was free to ask any question as can be seen by the number of comments which were critical of government policy or decisions.”

He said persons were asked the nature of their query to make sure it is directed to the right ministry.