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maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 23 DECEMBER 2015 3 TIM DIACONO THE Permanent Commission Against Corruption has cleared parliamentary secretary Ian Borg of corruption, in a report into a development application for the parliamentary secretary's Rabat property. "We found no proof that a crime or attempt to commit a crime took place, according to Malta's cor- ruption laws," the Commission, chaired by retired judge Lawrence Quintano, said in its conclusion. The commission included Yana Micallef Stafrace and upon the leader of the Opposition Simon Bu- suttil's recommendation, Judge Joe Cassar. The report will be tabled in Par- liament once the Christmas recess is over, but Borg provided a copy to journalists present at the media briefing. In a press briefing yesterday af- ternoon, Borg said that all the wit- nesses – who included himself and MEPA officials – had denied being influenced in their actions in any way by his Cabinet position. "They didn't even know that I was behind the application and only found that out after it was reported in the media," he said. In reaction, the Nationalist Party said Prime Minister Joseph Muscat was taking advantage of the festive season to shrug off his responsi- bilities and to refrain from sacking Borg. "It's clear for all, except Muscat, that Borg should go after the Om- budsman concluded that the per- mit issued by MEPA was abusive and 'devious methods' were de- ployed to issue the permit." The opposition added that Mus- cat would have used a different measure had the abuse been com- mitted by a PN MP. "Joseph Muscat has a measuring rule for himself and another for other people," the PN added. A Planning Ombudsman's report argued that Borg had used a "devi- ous" method to obtain the MEPA permit for the property by listing his father and a project manager as owners of the property. However, Borg insisted that this was an entirely normal process and criticised Planning Ombudsman David Pace for describing it as de- vious without even investigating him. "The main reason I listed my fa- ther and the project manager was because I am far too busy with my work and they have more time on their hands to deal with the devel- opment application than I do. "I also didn't want to use my name to influence the process in any way." The property had been sold to him by its 17 owners – an elderly widow, her 14 surviving children and the two children of another daughter who has since died – back in May 2014, and his planning ap- plication was filed in June. An ap- peal against a refusal on part of the land was curiously withdrawn a few weeks before the new applica- tion was presented. The Ombudsman's report noted that MEPA had refused a permit to a certain Kevin Bugeja to construct a new dwelling on the site a year before the same land was acquired by Borg. In its refusal for Bugeja's permit, MEPA noted that the lo- cal plan for small hamlets does not permit new developments that take up "fresh land, notwithstanding the location of the site in relation to existing buildings". This legal argument was not men- tioned in MEPA's acceptance letter for Borg's request, despite the fact that both cases were handled by the same case officer, Mariella Haber. The local plan also says MEPA must "seriously curtail the taking up of fresh land for buildings for the creation of new dwelling units, which increase densities and activ- ity in the settlement". All it needed was a "simple cut and paste" exercise, the planning ombudsman noted in his own-ini- tiative report into the Borg permit. However, Borg reiterated MEPA's legal rebuttal – that the local plan allows redevelopment on sites with a footprint that exceeds 50 square metres, and that Bugeja had applied to redevelop part of the building occupying a footprint of 35 square metres. To fulfill the policy criteria, Borg also purchased an adjacent farmhouse, hence increasing the footprint to 95 square metres. "I have no idea why David Pace didn't mention this legal argument in his report, but even the Ombuds- man [Joseph Said Pullicino] has disowned the report and said that he cannot guarantee that it doesn't contain any mistakes," Borg said. In the first application that was refused a permit, the take-up of "fresh land" was noted, while the case report for Borg's application did not even refer to the undevel- oped land still forming part of the application. "The crux of the matter is that the definition of fresh land applied in the first permit which was not approved, was not applied in Borg's permit," the ombudsman noted, leading him to the conclusion that this omission was not down to hu- man error but a "deliberate attempt to remove the one remaining ob- stacle blocking approval of the ap- plication". Case officer Haber has defended herself, insisting that while in the first case the undeveloped plot earmarked for construction was considered to be "back land", in the second case it was considered as a "back yard", the result of a recon- figuration of the site. But the ombudsman has reiter- ated that the local plan simply bans the uptake of new land in rural hamlets "notwithstanding the lo- cation of the site in relation to ex- isting buildings". News News Toyota Malta For more information contact: Michael Debono Limited 0GLQD5RDGĽHEEXã 7HO VDOHV#WR\RWDFRPPW ZZZWR\RWDFRPPW Toyota Gozo Showroom 0ãDUU5RDG ;HZNLMD;:.*R]R 7HO JJV#WR\RWDFRPPW 5 year WARRANTY DEBONO F I N A N C E ONLY 5.5% VARIABLE RATE OVER 6 YEARS Corruption watchdog clears Ian Borg in Rabat property case Corruption watchdog report finds no evidence that parliamentary secretary used his influence to obtain a MEPA permit for development on Rabat property. PN insists Borg should be sacked Although technically situated in outside development zones, Borg's property is located in a rural hamlet consisting of clusters of rural buildings