(Adds PN statement)
The government has appointed a working group to see what is the best use for the former Café Premier, part of which forms part of the National Library, and which has recently been returned to the government.
The Opposition said shortly after that through this statement, the government was caught in another lie.
The government is also inviting the public to make its own suggestions on the use of this space. The group will evaluate the public’s comments and it would then recommend the best proposals to the government.
The working group is chaired by Ray Bondin and its members are Joseph Caruana, Albert Marshall, Herald Bonnici, Gavin Gulia, Joanne Sciberras and Tony Pace.
The group will prepare a report and present it to the permanent secretary within the Office of the Prime Minister.
Suggestions may be sent to onlineconsultations@gov.mt up to May 6.
The government bought back the Cafe Premier, which it had conceded through an emphyteutical grant to Cities Entertainment Ltd (CE) in 1998, for €4.2 million.
The deal was slammed by the National Audit Office which said the government did not obtain value for money even though the property was bought at market value.
GOVERNMENT CAUGHT IN ANOTHER LIE
In a statement this evening, the Nationalist Party said the government was caught in another in another lie as it was now admitting to buying back the Cafe Premier without having an idea what to do with the building.
This, the PN said, confirmed how right the Opposition was to describe the payment of €4.2 million a scandal with the direct and personal intervention of Prime Minister Joseph Muscat.
A serious government would have first conducted the necessary studies before paying €4.2 million to a bankrupt company.
The fact that the government took nearly a year and a half to start evaluating what to do with the building confirmed that the Prime Minister paid the money because he had held secret talks with the owner.
When the scandal had come up, the PN said, Dr Muscat had said that the money had been paid because the building was needed for a cultural project in connection with Valletta 2018.
The government statement today made it clear that that declaration had been a lie, the PN said.