Opposition wants government to ignore AUM contract and simply take back Żonqor land

The Opposition wants the government to take back land at Żonqor Point from the American University of Malta without entering into negotiations with the company.

Opposition spokesperson Darren Carabott said government should take back the land in Marsaskala without offering AUM an alternative site at Smart City.

During a meeting of parliament’s National Audit Office Accounts committee, Carabott and fellow Opposition MP Rebekah Cilia voted against two resolutions presented by Lands Minister Silvio Schembri proposing that Żonqor be returned to government and AUM being granted a tract of land at Smart City instead.

The fact that the resolutions did not get unanimous backing means that they will now have to be discussed in the plenary.

Carabott insisted that AUM had failed to live up to its obligations as he questioned whether government thought it was right to negotiate with them.

 “The Opposition has been consistent in that the land at Żonqor should have never been passed on to AUM. Is government happy that AUM only attracted less than 200 students in four years? Is government saying that we should continue working with these people?”

Economy and Lands Minister Silvio Schembri insisted AUM was not in breach of contractual obligations and government could not simply rescind the contract or parts of it.

“A contract is binding and there are legal obligations that come with it. In a country governed by rule of law you cannot simply ignore contracts,” Schembri said, justifying the negotiations to reach a new deal with AUM that sees them give up a patch of land in Bormla and the large area in Marsaskala’s Żoqnor Point.

Schembri asked Carabott whether the Opposition wanted to pull the plug altogether on the AUM contract but the PN MP simply said government should have taken Żonqor back. 

PN MP Rebekah Cilia reiterated that the land at Żonqor should have never been given to AUM and was only being returned back to the public because Sadeen was being accommodated.

The resolutions will see government take back a portion of land at Smart City and leasing it to AUM in return for the Żonqor land and a St Paul’s car park in Bormla. The back-to-back deals also oblige the government to build a connecting road between Żabbar’s Bieb is-Sultan area and the Cappuchin monastery in Kalkara and construct the Smart City ring road.

READ ALSO: AUM has not yet defaulted on contractual obligations despite weak start, review shows