Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/702975
3 maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 13 JULY 2016 News New authority will add layer of scrutiny to government land deals Planning parliamentary secretary says Lands Authority would have prevented Gaffarena scandal TIM DIACONO PARLIAMENT will today start debating a Bill that will convert the Lands Department into an authority, with fresh layers of scrutiny into deals involving government land. Addressing a press conference yesterday, planning parliamen- tary secretary Deborah Schem- bri said the law would prevent scandals, such as the Old Mint Street expropriation case, from taking place. The government announced a reform of the Lands Depart- ment earlier this year, following a damning NAO inquiry into the expropriation of half a property in Valletta, from property entre- preneur Mark Gaffarena. That scandal led to the resigna- tion of Planning Parliamentary Secretary Michael Falzon, with Deborah Schembri taking his place. The law will see the Lands Commissioner replaced by a board of governors – composed of a chairperson and vice-chair- person appointed by the Prime Minister, a government MP, an Opposition MP, two people nominated by the Planning and Environment authorities, an ar- chitect, and a lawyer. The board will be responsible for drafting everyday planning policies, relegating the planning minister from a role where he used to give the final stamp of approval on decisions into one whose role will be limited to giv- ing strategic direction. A CEO, employed following a public call, will be tasked with implement- ing the board's decisions. The board will also employ a chief audit officer, who will au- tomatically scrutinize all deals involving government land that are worth over €100,000 and will have the power to delve into deals worth less than that. The authority will be obliged to keep an audit trail of its decision, and people who refuse to give data to the auditor will be subject to a €20,000 fine or a two years' im- prisonment term. The govern- ment will be able to remove the auditor from his post through an absolute parliamentary majority. "The figure of the auditor will reign supreme in this law, and his aura constantly looming in the background will ensure the board's independence," Schem- bri said. Moreover, the Lands Authority will keep a publicly available on- line register, showing the board's rationale for accepting or refus- ing applications. People will be able to contest the authority's decisions at the Administrative Review Tribu- nal, except for disputes related to expropriation, which will re- main the remit of the Lands Ar- bitration Board. "We want this to be an author- ity that functions independently of politicians, and this bill will pave the way towards an en- tirely new model of function- ing," Schembri said. "The previ- ous system had failed the public and the Lands workers alike, but it will now have foolproof safe- guards, more readily-available information and checks and balances, and will be frequently scrutinized. "If this law had been in place in the past, it would have prevented scandals such as the Strada Ze- kka and Fekruna deals from tak- ing place. It will render govern- ment land deals transparent as never before." Deborah Schembri, introducing "foolproof safeguards", and adviser Robert Musumeci