What Zrinzo Azzopardi’s fall tells us about power in Abela’s government

If you stick to your guns and defy the prime minister, Labour will force you out.  Ask Minister Stefan Zrinzo Azzopardi.

He was publicly humiliated when the Lands portfolio was taken from him and given to the spineless Owen Bonnici.  Zrinzo Azzopardi’s demotion was the only noteworthy change in Abela’s reshuffle.

Zrinzo Azzopardi is considered a moderate who avoids controversy and shuns conflict.  In his speech, he’s been restrained and respectful.  He’s calm and level-headed and avoids the hostile, confrontational rhetoric resorted to by many of his fellow Cabinet ministers.

There was no reason for Abela to pick on him. Zrinzo Azzopardi hadn’t embarrassed the prime minister as Clint Camilleri, Silvio Schembri, Clayton Bartolo, Rosianne Cutajar, Clifton Grima, and Chris Bonnett had.

But Zrinzo Azzopardi committed the worst offence in Abela’s book. He defied the prime minister. Zrinzo Azzopardi knew that reinstating Kurt Buhagiar, accused of the involuntary homicide of Jean Paul Sofia, was wrong. And he issued instructions for that not to happen.

Yet Lands Authority CEO Robert Vella, who was answerable to Zrinzo Azzopardi, gave Buhagiar, his right-hand man, his job back.

The Shift reported on 5 July that Buhagiar had been reinstated.  By then, Zrinzo Azzopardi had been shifted to the EU funds ministry, replaced by Bonnici. Both Minister Bonnici and Lands CEO Robert Vella refused to reply to questions about Buhagiar’s reinstatement.

Jean Paul Sofia’s mother was shocked by the news.  She confronted Bonnici, and he was compelled to admit that Buhagiar had indeed been reinstated several weeks before. Minister Bonnici shifted the blame onto his predecessor.

Zrinzo Azzopardi couldn’t remain silent. In a terse social media post, he made it clear: “I never gave my consent or approved this decision”.

He clarified that the decision was taken by “the administration of the Lands Authority” – that is CEO Robert Vella.

That same day, Prime Minister Robert Abela defended Vella’s decision.  Abela coldly told journalists that Buhagiar was “doing the job he was paid to do”. He commented cynically that “the court did not recommend Buhagiar’s dismissal”.

Zrinzo Azzopardi could have sacked Vella and ordered Buhagiar’s reinstatement to be reversed. The only reason he couldn’t, presumably, was because Vella had the backing of the prime minister.

Vella enjoys practically unfettered power at the Lands Authority.  Vella has been Lands CEO since 2021 under different ministers. In the battle between Zrinzo Azzopardi and Abela’s pawn at Lands, Vella was the outright winner.

At the time of that reshuffle, various ministers from Abela’s Cabinet indicated that the Buhagiar saga was not the only reason why Zrinzo Azzopardi was demoted. They referred to an “as yet undisclosed issue concerning the Lands Ministry”.

That issue is now in the open. Db Group, which was handed the ITS site for its mega development in very suspicious circumstances, has been exerting pressure on the government to defer payment of €4 million in ground rent until the next century.

Questions sent by The Times of Malta about Labour’s plan to relieve Silvio Debono of the impending financial dues remained unanswered.  No government announcement was made about negotiations with Db Group.

The transfer of that prime site at St George’s Bay had already raised significant concerns.  The National Audit Office (NAO) doubted the legality of the transfer. Joseph Muscat and Konrad Mizzi blamed each other for handing over the land to Debono.

Konrad Mizzi insolently refused to meet the NAO, which was then unable to establish whether it was Muscat or Mizzi. The NAO found that the land transfer was inappropriately prioritised and that Labour had “a false sense of urgency” to give the land to Debono.

The Request for Proposals barely mentioned the “residential component of the project”, which is what made the whole project viable. Unsurprisingly, only Debono submitted a proposal.

The NAO raised “major concerns” about the negotiation committee, the lack of documentation, the failure to involve the government property department, the lack of authorisation from the Department of Contracts and the overall lack of transparency.

Besides, the cost of transferring ITS to Smart City will cost over €80 million, when the total revenue for the state from handing that precious land to Debono was just €56 million. Now Debono wants to make more money off the site by raising the two towers by six and seven storeys, and deferring payments due.

The prime minister’s choice of Owen Bonnici as Lands Minister had a purpose. Zrinzo Azzopardi’s resistance to Kurt Buhagiar’s return and accommodating Silvio Debono were the reasons why he had to go.