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5 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 7 MARCH 2021 NEWS Publication of Tenders for Leasing of Premises by the Ministry for Gozo The Ministry for Gozo notifies the publication of tenders for the leasing of office spaces in Gozo and an office space in Malta. The premises are to have the following minimum area as listed below: • MGOZ MPU T 26/2021 - Office space in Gozo with a minimum area of 280m 2 • MGOZ MPU T 27/2021 - Office space in Gozo with a minimum area of 400m 2 • MGOZ MPU T 28/2021 - Office space in Gozo with a minimum area of 170m 2 • MGOZ MPU T 29/2021 - Office space in Gozo with a minimum area of 350m 2 • MGOZ MPU T 31/2021 - Office space in Malta with a minimum area of 300m 2 and parking facilities to accommodate a minimum of 4 vehicles Interested bidders may download all documentation and submit their bid through www.etenders.gov.mt by not later than Friday 9 th April 2021 at 9.30 am. Training in Gozo for Economic Operators The Ministry for Gozo in conjunction with the Department of Contracts will be organising training in Gozo on the electronic Public Procurement System. Interested economic operators are kindly requested to apply by Wednesday 17 th March 2021 by e-mail on procurement.mgoz@gov.mt or by calling on 2210 0268 between 8.00am and noon. MATTHEW AGIUS JASON Micallef has written to the Commissioner for Standards in Public Life, calling on him to investigate Nationalist MP Ja- son Azzopardi (pictured) over "non-payment of tax due for sev- eral years." "I did this as a private citizen, in the national interest," said Micallef, who besides being the chairman of the Vallet- ta Cultural Agency, is also the chairman of the Labour party's tele- vision station, One TV. The Commis- sioner is empow- ered at law to declare an ethics breach, but not impose sanctions – these are de- cided by a House committee of MPs. Earlier this week Labour took Jason Azzopardi to task for not having filed a tax return for his 2018 income. Labour MP Glenn Bedingfield described Azzopar- di, a key Nationalist critic of the Labour government, as a "false and hypocritical MP" who has broken the law through his "con- demnable" omission to file his tax returns. "Not one day passes with Azzo- pardi not attacking some- body: for him, everyone is corrupt or a thief, except himself. To- day we know, he is a false MP… he has never taken re- sponsibility for his lack of politi- cal accountability on the Lowen- brau, Fekruna, HSBC sites and encroachment per- mits as parliamentary secretary for lands," Bedingfield said. But speaking to MaltaToday on Thursday evening, Azzopardi said it had been impossible for him to file his returns on time due to his marital separation and legal problems that come with the process. Azzopardi went on to say that in January 2021 he had personal- ly presented his returns of 2018 and 2019, but that the Tax Com- missioner was still processing the separate assessments as required in marital separation proceed- ings. "Tax Commissioner Mar- vin Gaerty informed the Clerk of the House as well as [Labour's] One News, which they obvious- ly omitted… it is truly vile that One News manipulate a personal problem I have, and which thou- sands of Maltese pass through, to tarnish me. It was certainly a way of deviating public attention from the fiasco that was Robert Abela's COVID-19 press confer- ence." Ethics breach complaint on Azzopardi no longer be within the remit of the environment ministry, and the said minister will on- ly need to be informed when decisions are taken by such en- tities as the Ornis Committee, the body of hunting lobbies and bird conservationists that consults on the hunting and trapping seasons. spending three years unable to leave his home at night, but this condition was only lifted upon final judgment in January 2019. Mazzitelli's appeal explained how the prosecution repeatedly informed the court that it "de- finitively did not have any fur- ther evidence" for the issuing of the bill of indictment since 2006. In total 75 sittings were held in the case. The court noted that another 35 sittings were held in which the prosecution "gave rise to time-wasting". It therefore took over seven years for the compilation of evidence to be completed. The bill of indictment was is- sued in June 2011 – 7 years and 2 months after the start of pro- ceedings – with the Criminal Court ordering the case begin before it in October that year. The entire process before the Criminal Court took another 1 year and 5 months. After another spell of short sittings, the court ordered the separation of the cases against Mazzitelli and his co-accused. Mazzitelli was finally given the opportunity to testify in Feb- ruary 2017, 14 years after being charged. He admitted under oath that he would occasionally smoke a joint here and there and denied ever being charged in any other drug-related proceedings. On 15 June 2017, during oral submissions, the prosecution said that it was not treating Mazzitelli as the "kingpin" in the drug operation. He was finally cleared of all charges bar cannabis possession, for which he was fined €100, in January 2021 – 14 years and 10 months after his initial arrest. No appeals were filed. He then filed a Constitution- al case arguing that his right to justice within a reasonable time had been breached. Mr Justice Toni Abela agreed, laying blame for the inordinate delays at the feet of the Attor- ney General and the Magistrate presiding the compilation of ev- idence. "This delay was caused solely by the Attorney General who did not manage the renvoi procedure wisely, with the re- quired attention, commitment and with coordination between him and the police," said the judge. "After nearly seven years and two months of dragging his feet and hard-headedly insisting with the police that they present evidence when they had already declared their evidence exhaust- ed several times, he ended up misusing his discretion... issuing a Bill of Indictment in which he asked for the punishment of life imprisonment with solitary con- finement." "At the end of the day… it was up to… the Court of Magistrates as a court of compilation to en- sure that these delays are not permitted. This court was duty bound to prevent the AG from abusing the judicial process." The court was particularly in- censed at the fact that the Bill of Indictment issued by the AG in 2011 had originally requested the punishment of life imprison- ment with solitary confinement to be inflicted, only to rescind this request in 2014. But it was also the Court of Criminal Appeal and the Crim- inal Court which contributed to the delays, noted the court, pointing out that the case had spent years in the doldrums there too. Lawyers Arthur Azzopardi and Maryrose Micallef were defence counsel. Clint Camilleri, Gozo minister with responsibility for hunting and trapping