Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1140325
DAVID HUDSON ECONOMY Minister Chris Cardona should "immediately resign" after a "scandalous" lease extension of govern- ment land without a com- petitive tendering process, Nationalist Party MP Jason Azzopardi said. Speaking in Parliament yes- terday, Azzopardi said that Cardona had come to Parlia- ment with a resolution in- forming the House that the government land would be leased for 64 more years after the previous lease agreement between government-owned Casma Ltd and Dragonara Gaming Ltd was entering its final year. "This means that millions of euros and government land is simply being given away and all this behind the Prime Min- ister's back because the deal did not go through Cabinet. But because Prime Minister Joseph Muscat is a hostage of Cardona, he is unable to take measures against him," Azzo- pardi said. The resolution was tabled in Parliament last week where the Opposition, of which Azz- opardi is a member, had the opportunity to object, com- ment or even vote against the said resolution. But the reso- lution was approved unani- mously. In his adjournment speech yesterday, Azzopardi asked Cardona how many times the minister had travelled abroad with the directors of Drag- onara Gaming Ltd. "Muscat has lost control over his minister, so much so that he is allowing a decision that binds the country to 65 years with the result of losing millions of euros," Azzopardi said. Taking to Twitter, Azzo- pardi posted a question he had put to Cardona in parlia- ment, asking if the minister had brought up the matter of the casino lease extension in front of the Cabinet or the Labour Party parliamentary group. In his reply, Cardona said the resolution had been ap- proved unanimously by the House, including the Opposi- tion and that he had sought advice from all interested par- ties, including the Attorney General, and had followed all parliamentary procedures. Council of Europe report Azzopardi also called out Justice Minister Owen Bon- nici, who said that Turkey was the only country to be monitored by the Council of Europe. "This is not true. There are ten other countries and the list is public: Albania, Arme- nia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia, Geor- gia, Moldova, Russia, Serbia, Turkey and Ukraine," he said. Azzopardi also reacted to being labelled "spiteful" by Bonnici for supporting a call for the Council of Europe to launch a monitoring proce- dure on Malta. "I have nothing to be ashamed of. Shame should be felt by who- ever defends the corrupt. The traitor is the corrupt and history will vindicate us eventually," he said. maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 10 JULY 2019 3 NEWS EST Jason Azzopardi hits out at Dragonara lease extension Opposition did not object to PN MP Jason Azzopardi hit out Economy Minister Chris Cardona (inset) over the 64-year lease extension granted to Dragonara Gaming Ltd