Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/598356
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 8 NOVEMBER 2015 Opinion 20 T he Joe Cassar saga and his subsequent resignation stole the headlines this week. That is why, perhaps, the reports on the irregular use of its headquarters by the GWU did not become the talk of the town. In the first case the issue was that of an apparently incredibly naive politician allowing a scumbag to manipulate him – a story that fires up the imagination of the man in the street. In the second case we have all the elements of a whodunit – a disappearing document that reappears in the press and a clear case of conf lict of interest. The GWU was given the site where it eventually built its headquarters by the Mintoff administration in 1957 for peanuts, with the condition that it uses the site for trade union activities. At that time no Parliamentary motion was necessary: the government of the day freely disposed of state property as it wanted. Eventually the GWU became a shareholder in various companies that became an important source of income for the union. Leasing parts of the headquarters for commecial purposes was, however, prohibited by the terms of the contract by which it obtained the title of the property from the state. In 1987 the terms of the title were amended through a Parliamnetray motion so that the GWU was permitted to rent parts of the property to commercial entities in which the GWU had at least a 51% shareholding. As the Italian saying goes 'l 'appetito vien mangiando' and as the GWU owned a half-unused gargantuan headquarters it wanted to get rid of the shackles imposed by this condition on the property. Apparently the GWU somehow expressed an interest with the Lands Department in getting these shackles removed once and for all. A valuation of the compensation that would be due to the government for this amendment in the ownership title was made. The conclusion was that the value of this compensation was €3.2 million. I do not know how this valuation was carried out but this is hardly surprising: the free unencumbered commercial value of the property in a prime site in Valletta is considerable. Somehow, this valuation disappeared from the relevant file (surprise, surprise!) and after investigating the issue, the National Audit Office (NAO) – headed by the Auditor-General – referred to this valuation in its report commenting that attempts at sourcing a copy of the 2008 valuation had been 'to no avail '. Yet a copy of this valuation somehow made it to a section of the press and the figure of €3.2 million made the headlines last Sunday. Whistleblowing? Hanky-panky? Your guess is as good as mine. The NAO report found that two particular leases, one for an upmarket restaurant and one for ARMS – a state entity – were irregular as the conditon of the title was breached since the GWU had no shareholding in the two lessees.The NAO recommended that the government sue the GWU for breach of contract. However, what is even more staggering is the fact that the GWU and ARMS Ltd shared officials when the lease deal was made. The GWU's law yer is the company secretary of both ARMS Ltd and Enemalta Corporation (appointed by the government). Enemalta is a shareholder of ARMS Ltd. The financial consultant of the GWU – Robert Borg – is a board director of the Water Services Corporation, the other shareholder of ARMS Ltd. When asked if he informed the ARMS board that there might be a legal problem with the renting of the GWU property when the issue was discussed, Mr Borg said: "My duty as financial consultant to the GWU binds me by confidentiality on the GWU's operations." This is ridiculous: the lease contract is in the public domain. It is a public contract and there is no confidentiality about its contents! He insisted that he was not part of any decision to issue these tenders, and that he was not a member of the adjudicating committee. Hence he did not see any ethical conf lict. I beg to differ. While it Michael Falzon Opinion Conflict? What conflict?