Correspondence by a top civil servant seeking “political guidance” from his minister was ignored by the government when it yesterday reiterated that it had no plans to acquire a building in Valletta.
Home Affairs Minister Carmelo Abela insisted the government had no intention of acquiring Palazzo Verdelin, which houses the Valletta police station.
However, no mention was made of correspondence, dating to last March, which painted a different picture.
The Sunday Times of Malta reported that the permanent secretary at the Home Affairs Ministry, Kevin Mahoney, asked the minister for “political guidance” on whether the government should buy or expropriate the palazzo in Archbishop Street. At the time, Marco Gaffarena is known to have approached the other owners of the palazzo, offering to buy their share, as the government had plans to expropriate the building.
The government said in a statement yesterday that Mr Gaffarena already owned a third of the building, together with two other families. The government published a list of the 12 co-owners, heirs of the three families: Deborah Bonello Du Puis, Tanya Borg Cardona, Peter Caruana Galizia, Therese Demajo, Marco Gaffarena, Yvonne Galea, Charles Grech, Malcolm Soler, B. Tagliaferro and Sons Ltd, Dorothy and Mark Zammit, Joe Zammit and Victor Zammit.
‘We wanted to keep the lease’
Mr Abela said that, last October, the Land Department received a letter from the owners of Palazzo Verdelin asking the government to return the property to them. He said that, according to the usual procedure, after the matter was passed on to the permanent secretary, the ministry decided it was ready to enter into legal procedures to keep the lease of the property and not buy or expropriate it.
The Prime Minister should censure Minister Abela. He clearly lied
This latest declaration contrasts sharply with the correspondence seen by The Sunday Times of Malta, in which the permanent secretary did not speak of a lease.
“I think that we need to decide what to do,” Mr Mahoney told Mr Abela. “That we agree on a price to buy the property I don’t really like in view of the recent media hype on the acquisition of property by the government [the controversial Café Premier deal],” Mr Mahoney wrote.
“The alternative is to ask the Land Department to expropriate the building and then we expect a court case (from the owners),” he added, asking Mr Abela for “political direction”.
Before last Sunday’s report, Mr Abela categorically denied he was ever given any advice on the expropriation or acquisition of Palazzo Verdelin.
The Nationalist Party yesterday accused Mr Abela of “lying” to Parliament and to the media. During a press conference in front of Palazzo Verdelin, shadow justice minister Jason Azzopardi called on the Prime Minister to take action against his minister.
“If the Prime Minister still wants the electorate to think he has not lost control over his ministers, he should censure Minister Abela. He clearly lied,” Dr Azzopardi charged.
In reaction, the government accused the Opposition of trying to conceal the past relationship between its deputy leader, Beppe Fenech Adami, and the Gaffarena family.
Timeline
June 1962: Government acquires Palazzo Verdelin through an eight-year lease contract. Building was used for various purposes. It now houses Valletta police station. The current lease expires in 2028.
Late 1990s: Gaffarena family buys out one third of Palazzo Verdelin.
October 2014: Private owners write to government to return their property.
December 2014: Marco Gaffarena starts negotiations with other private owners of Palazzo Verdelin to sell property to the government.
March 2015: Marco Gaffarena tells other owners of Palazzo Verdelin the government was prepared to buy the property for €3.5 million.
March 2015: Home Affairs Ministry Permanent Secretary Kevin Mahoney asks Minister Carmelo Abela for political direction. The options considered were either buying or expropriating.
May 2015: The Sunday Times of Malta reveals the acquisition by the Government of half a property in Old Mint Street from Mr Gaffarena for €1.65 million in land and cash.
June 2015: Mr Gaffarena breaks off negotiations over the €3.5 million government offer with Palazzo Verdelin owners.
July 17, 2015: Mr Abela categorically denies in Parliament any intention by the government to acquire Palazzo Verdelin.
July 19, 2015: The Sunday Times of Malta reveals negotiations held between Mr Gaffarena and the private owners of Palazzo Verdelin in which he said the government would offer €3.5 million.
August 6, 2015: Times of Malta asks Mr Abela whether he was given any advice to expropriate or buy Palazzo Verdelin. He again categorically denies.
August 9, 2015: The Sunday Times of Malta reveals correspondence dated March 2015.