The former minister responsible for lands, Jason Azzopardi, said this evening that he would not be intimidated by a Lands Department employee, Karl Borg, an official very close to the Labour Party, who was going round all offices requesting minutes and other documents he had signed.
Speaking in parliament, Dr Azzopardi said that while he was a minister, a woman had made an allegation that Mr Borg had requested money he was not entitled for. The police were called and Mr Borg was suspended on half pay and taken to court. He was recently acquitted because of lack of evidence.
Soon after the election, Mr Borg had reappeared in the Lands Department even though his case was still pending and he was meant to be suspended.
Dr Azzopardi said he had no problem with anyone going over his documents, as long as they were not tampered with.
He said he was also not worried about a government call for the audit office to investigate the compensation given for the former Fekruna restaurant in Xemxija and other properties.
What he could say, Dr Azzopardi said, was that he did not meet anyone who requested expropriation. Nor did members of his secretariat accompany people who wanted properties expropriated.
NAO investigation
Earlier, during a meeting of the Public Accounts Committee, the government has requested the Auditor General to investigate transfer of land and property under two nationalist administrations from 2006 to 2013.
The request, by Justice Minister Owen Bonnici was for the Auditor General to investigate whether good governance, transparency and accountability together with value for money were observed in the transfer of five properties including the land at Tal-Fekruna in Xemxija, the former building in Republic Street to HSBC, a property in Spinola Road St Julians and the former Lowenbrau brewery in Qormi.
The minister requested that the investigation be considered an extension of the investigation requested by the Opposition on the part-expropriation of property at Old Mint Street, Valletta.
The chairman of the Public Accounts Committee Tonio Fenech said that the Opposition did not object to this investigation but one could not bind the Auditor General to investigate and conclude the report with the investigation on the Old Mint Street property
. He said that these were two separate requests and the Auditor General had to be free to decide when to conduct the investigation and to conclude the report.