Lands Authority HQ in Valletta
Charmaine Muscat, the Lands Authority auditor tasked with flagging irregularities in internal processes leading to tenders on the sale of public land, will not explain why she authorised a deal where the land in question was illegally occupied.
The Shift asked Muscat to state why her office gave its green light to the Board of Directors of the Lands Authority to issue a tender on a plot of land in Victoria Gozo. Land that was sold to two businessmen who occupied the plot illegally for years and turned it into a block of flats. Despite multiple reminders, Muscat ignored The Shift’s questions.
The latest Lands Authority blunder is connected to a tender issued in January for the sale of a 250-square-meter plot in Triq ta’ Wara s-Sur in Victoria, Gozo.
The block of flats was built on public land after the developers claimed they owned it.
Soon after the tender was issued, as authorised by Muscat, the Lands Authority sold the plot to the only bidders, Ronnie and William Gatt.
The Shift also revealed that in addition to squatting and occupying public land illegally, the two Gozitan brothers also issued a false declaration to the Planning Authority, stating that they owned the land when it was, in fact, public.
The Planning Authority issued a development permit based on the false declaration.
Questions raised by The Shift with the Lands Authority and in parliament by PN Lands spokesman Stanley Zammit, who asked how the public authority responsible for safeguarding public lands interests abetted this illegality, went unanswered.
Lands Minister Stefan Zrinzo Azzopardi also remained tight-lipped and did not explain why he has not yet requested an investigation on this latest blunder.
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Good bet they haven’t a clue. and will get some flunkey or “,person’s of trust” to get the info.
Jahtfu art pubblika biex saru sinjuri w l poplu rieqed!! Dak hu l mAlti li jhobb hafna lil Malta!