The Church is owed more than €2.2 million for 53 expropriations that have occurred in the past 40 years, but that figure could soar when another 300 sites, still to be valued, are included in the list, The Sunday Times of Malta has learnt.
The administrative secretary at the Archbishop’s Curia, Michael Pace Ross, said when contacted that the Curia was still waiting for the government to approve a Memorandum of Understanding, sent to it in 2015, over the implementation of a 1991 agreement on the payment of dues.
“The amount due on pending expropriations where the value has been established and agreed upon is €2.2 million, inclusive of interest. This amount covers 53 different expropriations spread all over the island.
“A further amount, which still has to be quantified, is also pending on about 300 or so other expropriations where the value has yet to be established. Some of these expropriations have been pending for over 40 years,” Mr Pace Ross said.
People were paid for expropriated land within three weeks. Why shouldn’t I expect payment after 30 years?
He was asked for details after Archbishop Charles Scicluna said on Dissett last week that the Church was owed millions for expropriated land. He was speaking in the context of what he said was a good working relationship with the government, despite some pending issues.
The expropriations were mentioned as an example. “There were people who were paid for expropriated land within three weeks. Why shouldn’t I expect payment after 30 years?” the Archbishop said. He was clearly referring to the expropriation of part of a palazzo in Old Mint Street involving Marco Gaffarena.
According to an agreement that was signed in November 1991 by Apostolic Nuncio Pier Luigi Celata and Prime Minister Eddie Fenech Adami, these expropriations should have been settled within a few years of the signing.
However, this never happened and a control committee set up by the Church to monitor the correct and timely application of the 1991 agreement prepared a Memorandum of Understanding to facilitate the settlement of these expropriations.
Mr Pace Ross explained that the MOU also proposed a mechanism to establish the values and transfer of ownership to the government.
“This Memorandum of Understanding, which was presented to the State authorities together with a list of the pending expropriations in 2015, is still waiting for the government’s formal approval,” Mr Pace Ross said.
According to theis agreement, both parties have the right to take the matter to court if any part of the agreement is not respected and in the absence of an amicable solution.
Questions sent to Parliament Secretary for Land Deborah Schembri, politically responsible for expropriations, remained unanswered at the time of writing.