Falzon ‘had warned Auditor General’ that investigation was politically compromised

Former lands parliamentary secretary claims Auditor General had ignored his warnings that NAO officials were 'manipulating' investigation into Gaffarena expropriation 

Former parliamentary secretary for planning Michael Falzon (Photo: Ray Attard)
Former parliamentary secretary for planning Michael Falzon (Photo: Ray Attard)

Former parliamentary secretary Michael Falzon has come out swinging against the Auditor General, claiming that he had ignored his warnings that people within his office were manipulating the Gaffarena expropriation investigations for “political purposes”.

“I had held a meeting in my office with the Auditor General [Anthony Mifsud] and the deputy Auditor General [Charles Deguara] in the presence of my chief of staff, and had warned him that a certain person within his office was manipulating the investigations so as to damage the government of the day due to political motivations,” Falzon said in a telephone interview on Ghandi Xi Nghid. “He promised to relay my concerns to him, and yet that person remained in the same position.”

Falzon declined to provide names, stating however that the person concerned used to work in the office of a former Nationalist minister, and that “he will release more information in the future”.

When questioned by host Andrew Azzopardi, Falzon shied away from directly accusing the PN leadership of interfering in the NAO investigations.

“I’m not involved in the party structure, but what I can say is that there used to be a degree of honour within the Nationalist Party. There used to be some people, such as [former secretary general] Joe Saliba who were worth speaking to. Unfortunately, that’s all evaporated under the current leadership.”

When asked whether he had relayed his concerns to the Prime Minister, Falzon said that “what words are exchanged privately between himself and Joseph Muscat shall remain private”.

Falzon resigned as lands parliamentary secretary on Wednesday following the publication of a damning National Audit Office report into the expropriation of two quarters of a Valletta palazzo from notorious businessman Mark Gaffarena.

However, he has maintained his innocence and insists that he only offered his resignation because “it was the right thing to do in the current situation”.

During his telephone interview, Falzon accused the NAO of drawing up a foregone conclusion that would force him out of office, and then writing the rest of the report in an attempt to justify the results.

“There are certain statements within the conclusion that sound identical to a speech by the leader of the Opposition,” he said, while insisting that an NAO official had leaked the report to the Times of Malta prior to its publication.

Falzon to stay on as MP, but undecided whether to contest next election

Michael Falzon pledged to maintain his parliamentary seat, insisting that “he had no reason to resign as an MP”. However, he was inconclusive when asked whether he will contest the next general election.

“It’s a bit of a difficult period for me at the moment, but what is certain is that I did absolutely nothing wrong, that I didn’t interfere in the land valuations, and that I conducted my work according to long-established procedures,” he said.

He pointed out that Joseph Spiteri, the architect who evaluated the Old Mint Street palazzo and the lands that were granted to Gaffarena as compensation, is a senior lecturer at the university’s Faculty of the Built Environment.

“He lectures property valuations at the university and his services were also employed by [former PN lands parliamentary secretary] Jason Azzopardi.”

He also claimed not to have negotiated at all with Mark Gaffarena at all, claiming that the last time the two met was in April 2014.

“In my 22 months as parliamentary secretary, the doors of my office have always been open to everyone, regardless of their political affiliations. Should I have told him not to approach the Lands Department or MEPA simply because he was a well-known figure?

“I’m honestly baffled why my head was placed on the chopping block, but that’s politics, I suppose…”