The much-awaited Land Department reform promised following the Gaffarena scandal reeked of “heavy and manifest political involvement”, former Cabinet minister Jason Azzopardi said.
The aim of the Bill, published in the Government Gazette this week, is to establish an independent authority to take over the functions of the Land Registry and the Land Department.
The draft law proposes that the government will have the right to appoint seven of the 10 members of the authority’s board of governors, including the chairman and deputy. Even the ‘independent’ member on the board will be chosen by the minister.
The rest of the board will consist of two MPs – one nominated by the Prime Minister and the other by the Opposition leader – as well as two members nominated by the Planning Authority and the Environment Authority.
An architect and a lawyer will also sit on the board, again chosen by the government.
It is evident they have learnt nothing from the Gaffarena and Café Premier scandals
A board member can only be removed by the minister, according to the Bill.
Furthermore, the Bill proposes that every detail debated by the board is communicated to the government. “The board of governors shall transmit a copy of the agenda, minutes and relative enclosures of its meetings to the Prime Minister and to the minister for their information,” it states.
The minister will also appoint a secretary, chosen in consultation with the chairman named by the same minister. The secretary will call meetings and keep minutes, among other duties.
If the board votes against a recommendation or decision taken by the chief executive officer, the board is obliged to note its justification, which is again sent to the minister. Then, the minister has the prerogative to send the decision back to the board “for its review”.
The CEO is also appointed by the minister after a public call.
Shadow minister Jason Azzo-pardi, who served as land minister under the previous administration, said that “the heavy and manifest political involvement in the new structure being proposed” would put paid to any claims of autonomy of the new Land Authority.
“The Prime Minister and the minister want to know even which public tenders are being discussed. It is evident the government has learnt nothing from the Gaffarena and Café Premier scandals,” he added.
The Gaffarena scandal, revealed by this newspaper, exposed collusion between former parliamentary secretary Michael Falzon and the Land Department in favour of Mark Gaffarena, who was given more than €3 million in cash and public land.
Dr Azzopardi expressed concern about the amalgamation of the Land Registry and the Land Department. “This will be fertile ground for very damaging conflicts of interest. It seems the government is still not satisfied with the quantity of public land abuses it has given birth to in the last three years,” he said.
In the Bill, the government was granting itself a privilege not afforded to the private sector. The government gave itself 10 years to collect its rent arrears while everyone else was limited to five years, which Dr Azzopardi noted, was “a gross advantage” that was “manifestly discriminatory”.
“For the last 120 years, arrears of all leases and ground rents were time-barred after the lapse of five years… if the government believes this isn’t adequate, the law should have been amended to benefit itself and the private citizen,” Dr Azzopardi said.