Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/881840
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 1 OCTOBER 2017 3 News Deborah Schembri passes through revolving door at Lands Authority 'Coalition' allies out of love over Delia co-option ruckus DENISE GRECH THE Democratic Party has been hit by the resignation of both its spokesperson Monique Agius, and secretary-general Karl Camilleri. The resignations were confirmed by PD leader Marlene Farrugia as having been submitted on 11 Sep- tember. Agius also refused to contest the seventh district casual elec- tion triggered by the resignation of Jean Pierre Debono. She had garnered just over 70 first-count votes on the seventh district in the 2017 election. The news follows claims first made on Facebook by Michael Briguglio, the Nationalist council- lor for Sliema, who revealed that Agius had refused to contest the casual election. PD leader Marlene Farrugia had already said she would instruct candidates to contest the casual election triggered by the resigna- tion of any Nationalist MP, in- stead of offering new PN leader Adrian Delia a painless route for co-option into parliament. Delia could only find a seat in the House with the resignation of an MP elected by casual election, or in the case of an MP whose resig- nation triggers a casual election, with the winning candidate of that casual election resigning, leading to Delia's co-option. Briguglio, who had once dubbed Marlene Farrugia a "rainbow in the darkness" after successfully being elected as part of the PN- PD's 'Forza Nazzjonali' coalition, accused her of standing in the way of the PN. "Marlene Farrugia decided to stand in the way and disrespect the democratic will of its coalition partner," he said, after PD fielded its other candidate, Lee Bugeja Bartolo, for the casual election. "This has damaged trust in the role of third parties in future coa- litions and has spread the butter on PD's toast. Kudos to Monique Agius who did not follow Mar- lene's obstinacy and did not sub- mit nomination. Let us now finish what was started through a strong, reflective and forward-looking PN opposition against the corrupt La- bour government." PD elected a second candidate, former Labour MP Godfrey Far- rugia, by casual election after the PN ceded the second seat won by Beppe Fenech Adami on the seventh district. In response to Briguglio, Farru- gia said on Face- book that Agius had formed part of the executive which unani- mously supported the decision "to stand by PD's/Forza Nazzjonali battle-cry, but scurried out of her commitment the very next day." "PD practises a politics of con- viction, not of convenience like Mr Briguglio, who one day was advocating good governance, while switching towards abetting the personification of anti-good governance, the next." Farrugia was referring to the fact that Briguglio, who resigned from the Green Party last May to become a member of the PN and now local councillor on Sliema for the party, had at one point suggested that Godfrey Farrugia should resign his seat for Adrian Delia's co-option. "This is a clear case of 'ma' min rajtek, xebbahtek' [birds of a feather, flock together]. Such los- ers tend to stick firmly together," Farrugia said. "PD will stand for its country, notwithstanding the fact that cowards like Mr Briguglio et al prefer to stand aside and watch their country toasted by one shady party with two sleazy heads, for their own imaginary political fu- ture." It was a big, happy family of orange. Monique Agius (front row, first from left), and Karl Camilleri (standing, first from left) have now stepped down from the PD. Marlene Farrugia (right) called PN councillor Michael Briguglio, who used his Facebook wall to announce that Monique Agius had refused to stand in the 7th district casual election, 'a coward' Former lands minister and consultant who led Lands Authority reform, are now working as lawyers for the regulator MATTHEW VELLA THE former minister responsible for lands has been granted the fac- ulty of passing through the revolv- ing door of government. Deborah Schembri, who was not re-elected to the House of Repre- sentatives in the last elections, was until June the parliamentary sec- retary responsible for lands. But now, the new Lands Author- ity – which she helped form from the ashes of the discredited gov- ernment property division – has employed her, its former political master, as a legal consultant. The LA also appointed the gov- ernment consultant who actually led the authority's reform, archi- tect and lawyer Robert Musumeci, as a lawyer to assist Schembri. Both Schembri and Musumeci appeared for the Lands Authority earlier this week for a marathon session of some 47 cases before the Lands Arbitration Board. The LAB is a tribunal for cases that deal with the expropriation of private land and property, to de- cide on the compensation for such expropriations by the State. MaltaToday also confirmed that the Lands Authority was recently struck by the resignation of its full-time staff of four lawyers, en masse. The Lands Authority confirmed that it had employed Deborah Schembri and Robert Musumeci, but refused to divulge how much the former minister and the gov- ernment consultant are being paid. "The Lands Authority chose competent and honest lawyers well versed in government lands- related legislation to continue working in the best interest of the authority," CEO Carlo Mifsud told MaltaToday. "The chosen advocates more than fulfil the criteria required to carry out the job entrusted to them and given their competences they are held to be assets for the authority. They will be remuner- ated according to tariffs estab- lished by law. The authority holds that there is no conflict of interest in the appointments." When asked whether Schembri is taking cognisance of LAB cases where expropriations took place during her tenure, Mifsud said no recent cases were involved. "Dr Schembri is taking cogni- sance of LAB cases which have the Commissioner of Lands as either plaintiff or defendant… Issues of present cases concern decisions taken prior to her tenure. "As in any other instance when it comes to advocacy, if there is any case which she would have a conflict of interest dealing with, she will not take up the case and the case would be passed on to her colleague. "However given the type of cases that are under the jurisdiction of the LAB, these, if any at all, will be few and far between. Cases usually concern expropriation of land that has taken place a few good legisla- tures back," Mifsud said. Robert Musumeci, who pens a planning column for this newspa- per, has already served the Labour government on two important re- forms: the demerger of the Plan- ning Authority, and the creation of the Lands Authority in the wake of the Old Mint Street expropria- tion scandal that led to the resig- nation of minister Michael Falzon. His appointment was in fact made by then parliamentary sec- retary Deborah Schembri, who had stated back then that she had "full confidence in Mr Musumeci even though he was a consultant to her predecessor and had de- fended his handling of the Gaffa- rena case." Musumeci is a former National- ist mayor for Siggiewi who openly switched support to the Labour Party. mvella@mediatoday.com.mt Robert Musumeci (left) and Deborah Schembri during the start of the public consultation on the Lands Authority reform