Azzopardi was present for meeting in which decision to sell Spinola road property was taken, PAC hears

The parliamentary Public Accounts Committee (PAC) this evening heard how the decision for a property situated at 83, Spinola road St Julian’s, to be sold outright, rather than being granted by perpetual emphytheusis, was taken during a meeting which the then minister Jason Azzopardi was present for.

The PAC continued to hear the case flagged by the National Audit Office, in which a property which was valued at €950,000, had been sold for €525,000, with the government receiving €35, owing to an agreement in place with the Joint office, which administers properties formerly owned by the Church. Had the property been granted by perpetual emphytheusis, the government would have made over €600,000

Giving his testimony before the committee, Iman Schembri, who was the director general of the government property division (GDP) between January 2011 and November 2013, said that the case was not a normal one, and had dragged on for several years.

He said the case was further complicated by the fact that there a number of mistakes had been made, and the fact that the individual in question had originally bought the government in good faith, and had also invested in the property.

Schembri said that as director, he would keep the minister informed of any developments, and that Lino Mintoff, then head of secretariat at the ministry, would always be present for meetings regarding the case, and would also be copied in all correspondence regarding the property.

The committee, chaired by Nationalist MP Beppe Fenech Adami, includes Labour MPs Robert Abela, Julia Farrugia Portelli, Clayton Bartolo and Silvio Schembri for the government, all of whom were present. There were no representatives from the Opposition’s side.

“I often used to be frustrated because it would seem like after discussing round a table and deciding on a course of action, there would be a new objection by the client,” said Schembri, adding that while he understood that the clients position, repeated objections added considerable pressure for the deal to be closed.

He explained that after reviewing the case, he had given the minister two options, with one being the outright sale of the property and the second being by granting perpetual emphytheusis. Schembri said that he had advised the minister to pick the latter option since the government would recuperate a significantly smaller amount of the property’s value in the case of a sale, owing the an agreement with the church which governs the sale of properties administered by the Joint Office.

“Given that I was working for the government I felt I needed to avoid the sale of the property, and therefore made by recommendation to the minister,” said Schemrbi.

The former director said there was many instances in which he had communicated directly with Azzopardi regarding the case, adding that more often than not be “instigated by emails sent by the client’s lawyer”, and the nature of the discussion would revolve around resolving the case quickly.

Asked when the decision had been taken for the property to be sold, Schembri said it was a “collective decision” taken at a meeting at the ministry, during which Azzopardi was present.

Schembri also explained how he had been irritated by the fact that despite what was stated in the tender, the client was allowed to pay over a period of ten years.  “In the meeting we spoke of a cash price and they asked us for tenyears. I think that was the straw that broke the camel’s back,” said Schembri.  

The committee also heard Gaetano Schembri, a draftsman at the Lands Department, who said he was asked to draw up plans for the property, but had never visited the site.

He explained that at the time, the standard procedure was for draftsman to be handed a CD with plans by the client, and would not carry out any inspections on site.

“Back then we wouldn’t do inspections, we didn’t have the people, today it is different,” he said.

Schembri said that the case had been handled like all others but could not remember whether the foreshore was included in the plans, since he had not visited the site.