Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/527016
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 14 JUNE 2015 6 News CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 But the junior minister pushed aside a suggestion to resign pending two investigations by the IAID (inter- nal audit and investigations de- partment) and the Auditor Gen- eral. Gaffarena was paid €822,500 in cash and then granted several government lands, totaling anoth- er €822,500, for the expropriation of his 50% ownership in a Valletta building that houses the govern- ment offices of the Building In- dustry Consultative Committee. The deal has raised suspicion on two counts: he was compensated in January 2015 for a 25% share in the property, and then again in April after he managed to buy another 25% in February; and be- cause the lands he was given abut- ted on property he already owned or which he intends to develop. Falzon yesterday told MaltaTo- day that he challenged anyone to say that he had committed any- thing illegal. "I could have gone to the GPD and rummaged through the docu- ments. But I am here to work. I am man enough to shoulder my responsibility if I did anything ir- responsible; I have no problem in obeying the Prime Minister if he asks me to suspend myself. But I challenge anyone to say that I did something illegal to say it." Falzon even said there was noth- ing suspicious about the fact that Gaffarena had acquired a 25% share in the building in February, just two months before the second compensation. "Under the pre- vious administration, contracts were signed in just six days… I am comforted by the fact that all laws, procedures and regulations were followed." Despite Falzon's assurances, the junior minister's interview has re- vealed that it was Gaffarena who approached the GPD with an offer to expropriate his share in the Old Mint Street building. MaltaToday can reveal that up until the summer of 2014, Gaf- farena owned a 25% share that he had acquired back in 2007. Then in August 2014, Falzon said that the GPD a request from the landlords' lawyers demanding the eviction of the property since it was no longer being used as a school as per the original lease agreement. "The GPD risked los- ing the palace so they went for it," Falzon said – although he also said that the lease was to expire in 2028, somewhat contradicting the impression of the need for an ur- gent expropriation. But this newspaper can also con- firm that between 11 August and 28 September, the GPD appointed architect Joseph H. Spiteri to car- ry out valuations on the Old Mint Street offices, agricultural land at Tal-Handaq where an unlicensed restaurant operates, 26,000 square metres of agricultural land in Haz-Zebbug, and 6,000 square metres of land at Tas-Salvatur in Mqabba. And in November 2014 – as told to MaltaToday by seller Anthony Mercieca – Gaffarena was also busy negotiating with him for the acquisition of another 25% share in the Old Mint Street, which he eventually bought in February 2015 for just €139,762. "Gaffarena went to the GPD offering them an exchange for his share in Old Mint Street, for a government property he was renting out for peanuts. The GPD considered it to be a wise move, presented an internal communi- cation and I signed it. The GPD was of the opinion it made sound business sense and I endorsed it," Falzon told MaltaToday. He also insisted that GPD based its decision on the established procedures and valuations pre- sented to it by Joseph Spiteri, a head of department in the Faculty for Built Environment at the Uni- versity of Malta. He defended the GPD's decision to first expropriate Gaffarena's 25% share, and then proceed on the second 25% share of Old Mint Street. "Yes, it is something that happens… it doesn't happen eve- ry day but there were instances where it occurred. You cannot ig- nore the importance of the build- ing in question, a palace in Vallet- ta that had housed a school and an examination centre. The govern- ment risked losing the property by 2028," he said. But all the more importantly, it appears that Gaffarena may have had a direct say in which lands he should receive in exchange for the expropriation of the Valletta building. Selecting the lands For example, in October 2014 a senior GPD architect valued a Sliema shop on Manwel Dimech Street at €65,000. As it happens, Gaffarena had a year earlier pur- chased the adjoining three-storey house for €72,000. Then in May 2015, Gaffarena applied with MEPA to demolish the townhouse and shop to build 10 apartments and a penthouse over four levels. It is for this reason that the Gaf- farena expropriation shocks. At Handaq, he was leasing from gov- ernment land being used to host an illegal entertainment venue under an enforcement notice from MEPA. Indeed, the choice was no co- incidence as it is increasingly be- coming evident that Gaffarena did have a say in which lands he got. When questioned, Falzon reit- erated that there was "no politi- cal involvement in the valuation of the properties or the choice of lands." But he said that the law allowed for such land exchanges. "There are a number of param- eters to follow when an exchange takes place, including that the val- ue can't vary more than 30%. The choice of the site is something that GPD discusses with the indi- vidual and independent architects value the property. I reiterate that I didn't interfere in the choice of lands." Falzon neither confirmed, nor 'I won't resign, I haven't Parliamentary Secretary Michael Falzon denies exerting pressure on the Government Property Department but does not rule out Marco Gaffarena's involvement in the selection of lands in controversial expropriation deal ECONOMIST Applications are invited for the position of Economist in the Ministry for the European Affairs and Implementation of the Electoral Manifesto. Applications together with a detailed CV will be received at the Corporate Services Directorate, Ministry for European Affairs and Implementation of the Electoral Manifesto, Tal-Pilar, 31B, Marsamxett Road, Valletta, VLT 1850 or submitted through the Online Government Recruitment Portal on http://recruitment.gov.mt by not later than noon of Friday 19 June, 2015. Further details may be obtained from the Government Gazette of 29 May 2015. Application forms may be downloaded from: https://opm.gov.mt/en/PAHRO/RESOURCING/Pages/Forms%20and%20Templates/Forms-and- Templates.aspx Michael Falzon Marco Gaffarena PHOTOGRAPHY BY RAY ATTARD