Planning Minister withdraws nomination for PA board chair who refused bribe but failed to report it

Updated at 12:15 with PN comments

Government has withdrawn Anthony Borg’s nomination for the post of chairman of the Planning Authority board after he admitted failing to report a case of attempted bribery.

Planning Minister Stefan Zrinzo Azzopardi told MaltaToday that following yesterday’s revelation during Borg’s grilling in parliament, he decided to withdraw the nomination.

“Following what happened, I immediately dispatched the letter, which I assume Mr Borg will be receiving this morning, informing him that the nomination is withdrawn” Zrinzo Azzopardi said.

Borg was being grilled by parliament’s Public Appointments Committee on Wednesday when he revealed that 12 years ago, as a case officer, he had been approached by a police officer with money asking for a favour.

Borg said he refused the offer and walked away but admitted not reporting the matter to his superiors or the police. He was being grilled by Nationalist MPs Adrian Delia and Karol Aquilina.

After the committee meeting was over, Aquilina went to the police to report the matter.

Borg has worked at the PA since its inception and is currently a member of the Planning Commission that takes decisions on ordinary applications in ODZ areas.

Zrinzo Azzopardi said that he will be appointing someone else to the post but no decision has yet been made.

PN says Zrinzo Azzopardi should assume responsibility 

During a press conference on Thursday morning Karol Aquilina said the nomination of Borg was “totally inacceptable” and stated that Planning Minister Stefan Zrinzo Azzopardi should assume responsibility.

“The responsibility falls in the hands of Stefan Zrinzo Azzopardi, as he failed to scrutinise the person he was nominating and determine whether he was fit for purpose or not,” Aquilina said. 

Aquilina said that prior to the interview, they had put forward two motions asking for the committee to have available the criminal records and the personal file of every nominee in advance. He said that despite resistance from the government, a compromise had been reached. 

“The committee should oversee the character of the person and assess whether the person being nominated has not just the right qualities but also the right ethics. This case could not be ignored,” Aquilina said. 

He said that after the interview he phoned the police commissioner, but since he was told he was not available, he insisted to speak to the Financial Crimes Investigations Department, to whom he offered testimony.

Aquilina said he told the police to treat Borg as a whistleblower. 

Adrian Delia emphasised that him and his colleagues managed to extract information about this incident from Borg immediately and said the ministers were abdicating of their responsibility to vet their nominees. 

“The minister should be convinced of the qualities of the nominee and assume responsibility of the integrity of the individual,” Delia said. 

He called out Minister Clayton Bartolo and Parliamentary Secretary Andy Ellul for “taking comfort” in the fact that the incident happened years ago and under a different administration.

“They cannot fathom that what is wrong is always wrong and that responsibility should always be assumed. The problem with our country is that there is a mentality of looking the other way,” Delia said. 

PN MP Julie Zahra said this case clearly showed that the nomination of Anthony Borg lacked scrutiny and criticised the government for defending his actions.