Fortina deal: Government MPs cite reforms, Opposition MPs say warnings were ignored

Parliament is currently debating the findings of a National Audit Office probe into the 2019 contract that lifted conditions the Fortina Group’s land in Sliema.

An urgent debate was first requested by Opposition leader Alex Borg in the wake of the NAO report that was tabled earlier in parliament. The government side insisted there werern’t the elements for an urgent debate to take place.

Speaker Anglu Farrugia ruled against the Opposition’s request but shortly after delivering the ruling, government Whip Naomi Cachia said the government was suspending its agenda nonetheless to hold the discussion on the NAO report.

This was the first parliamentary session for Alex Borg as Opposition leader. He opened the debate and in a very short intervention said the NAO report was another example of how public land was being disposed on the cheap without transparency.

He pledged that a future Nationalist government will ensure transparency so that if it is necessary that public land be disposed of, taxpayers will get the best deal possible.

Borg also called on the police to investigate the NAO findings and urged the government to hold an inquiry.

Addressing the House during the debate, all government MPs and ministers made reference to reforms enacted by government within the Lands Authority.

“The reform we enacted in 2017 keep the politician at arms’ length from the authority,” Borg said.

Ramon Attard made little reference to the report, instead opting to compare the Fortina situation to similar ones under Nationalist administrations. Minister Owen Bonnici, who was first to address the House from the government benches also cited several reforms enacted by government. He also insisted Lands Authority officials should not all be demonised because of the report, saying the majority carryout their work diligently.

The majority of government MPs also claimed Borg's leadership style is similar to his predecessor, continuing their mantra in saying the PN's leadership is controlled by "extremist" factions. They said he will continue in the same political style of his predecessors. 

Opposition MP Adrian Delia said there was a major discrepancy between the land valuation and the payment made in the Fortina hotel land deal, with a difference of €8.1 million on a €21 million valuation — nearly three times higher. He said the 200-page NAO report condemned the government, though Minister Owen Bonnici claimed it vindicated legal amendments.

Delia accused the government of hiding documents, vitiating the process from the start, and called for political accountability since the Lands Authority is a state entity. He said the government must explain why no minister is taking responsibility for what the NAO found, describing the situation as a failure of governance. Drawing parallels with the hospitals case, where fraud was declared and contracts were annulled, Delia insisted that proper steps must be taken when a process is tainted.

MP Darren Carabott told parliament the government ignored all advice regarding the Fortina hotel land valuation, stressing that the NAO prioritised the national interest and condemned the Labour government in its report.

He warned that the NAO’s extensive work risks being shifted onto the entity rather than politicians, which the PN rejects, insisting the common good must come first. Carabott called for a public inquiry and police investigations, noting these should have already begun. He highlighted the NAO’s concern over the serious valuation discrepancy, which failed to protect the public interest, and said responsibility lies with the Lands Authority as the government was obliged to prevent abuse.