L-istorja tal-Fortina hija storja oħra ta’ ħabi u ta’ nuqqas ta’ governanza tajba. Dan kollu, milli jidher kkordinat mill-Uffiċċju tal-Prim Ministru f’Kastilja, apposta, u biex igawdu l-ftit viċin il-poter. Fl-istess ħin hija storja oħra fejn, lil hinn mill-ħabi tal-valutazzjoni tal-valur tat-trasferiment ta’ art pubblika, l-istorja ta’ spekulazzjoni minn fuq art pubblika bil-barka tal-Parlament kollu issa ilha tirrepeti ruħha. Spekulazzjoni li twassal biex in-nies komuni li kull ma jridu hija dar bi prezz raġonevoli fejn jgħixu, jispiċċaw ibatu l-konsegwenzi fi splużjoni tal-prezzijiet tal-propjetà tul is-snin. 

Iċ-Chairperson ta’ ADPD-The Green Party Sandra Gauci qalet:”Issa drajna sew li l-governanza tajba ma tfisser xejn għal dan il-gvern. Ma kienet tfisser xejn għal Joseph Muscat u għall-kap tas-segretarjat tiegħu Keith Schembri, u lanqas ma għandha l-ebda tifsira għal Robert Abela, li dejjem jara kif jiġġustifika u jiddevja d-diskors billi jivvinta xi battibek partiġġjan. Għaliex inħbew il-valutazzjonijiet differenti tal-art li saru biex jinbidel l-użu tal-art għal spekulazzjoni tal-propjetà minflok għall-iskopijiet oriġinali tat-trasferiment, iġifieri skopijiet turistiċi? Bilfors li jqumu mistoqsijiet wara r-rivelazzjonijiet fir-rapport tal-Awditur Ġenerali.”

“Il-ftehim ġdid li sar fl-2019 bl-approvazzjoni tal-Parlament, fisser li ħafna mill-kundizzjonijiet għall-għoti tal-art tneħħew. Fosthom il-kundizzjoni li l-art tintuża esklussivament għat-turiżmu. Tneħħew hekk imsejħa ‘no-build zones’, u l-limiti fuq l-għoli tal-bini. Tneħħew obbligi għal landscaping u substations. Prattikament tneħħew l-obbligi kollha, migħajr l-ebda obbligi ġodda. Tħallew jużaw l-art għall-ispekulazzjoni.”

“Imbagħad hemm il-kwestjoni tal-ħabi tar-rapporti ta’ valutazzjoni tal-art. L-Awditur sab li l-Awtorità tal-Artijiet ma’ għamlitx xogħolha. Sab nuqqas ta’ dokumentazzjoni, influwenza politika fuq il-valutazzjonijiet u kif isiru biex jaġevolaw lill-Fortina. Il-valutazzjonijiet konfliġġenti, minflok ġew imqabbla u evalwati sew, inħbew. U Joseph Muscat għandu l-wiċċ jiddefendi dat-taħwid.”

“Meta se jirreżenja Robert Vella CEO tal-Awtorità tal-Artijiet, li mir-rapport tal-Awditur Ġenerali joħroġ ċar li kien involut fil-ħabi tar-rapport tal-valutazzjoni tal-propjetà? Il-Gvern għandu jiġbor flus il-poplu lura mingħand il-familja Zammit Tabona li tmexxi l-Fortina. Fl-aħħar mill-aħħar dan huwa każ fejn il-Pulizija għandha tara li tħares l-interessi pubbliċi, illum qabel għada.”

Is-Segretarju Ġenerali ta’ ADPD-The Green Party Ralph Cassar żied:“Ta’ min jemfasizza wkoll li għalkemm il-Kumitat Parlamentari, għalkemm milli jidher ġie sgwidat billi rapporti konfliġġenti ta’ valutazzjoni tal-art inħbewlu, xorta taw l-approvazzjoni biex art pubblika li ngħatat fil-passat għat-turiżmu issa l-użu tagħha jinbidel biex parti mis-sit jsiru residenzi u uffiċċji kummerċjali għal skopijiet ta’ spekulazzjoni. Dan huwa sussidju mit-taxxi tagħna għall-ispekulazzjoni. Il-Parlament, hu favur l-ispekulazzjoni li tgħolli d-djar għal kulħadd bla rażan. Filwaqt li l-pagi żdiedu b’medja ta’ 43% bejn l-2013 u l-2023, il-prezzijiet medji tal-propjetà żdiedu b’100%.”

“Nfakkru fl-artijiet pubbliċi li ngħataw bil-barka tal-Parlament, jew għal-lukandi u eventwalment bi bdil fil-kundizzjonijiet jinbidlu biex titħalla ssir spekulazzjoni minn fuq art pubblika, jew inkella direttament għall-ispekulazzjoni tal-propjetà għat-tgawdija tal-ftit u għas-skapitu tal-ħafna. Fost l-artijiet hemm l-art tal-Hilton u Portomaso f’San Ġiljan, l-art fejn kien hemm l-ITS f’Pembroke, Manoel Island, The Point u Fort Cambridge f’Tas-Sliema, Ir-Rinella għall-proġett ta’ spekulazzjoni ta’ Smart City. Smart City suppost ċentru ta’ kumpaniji tal-informatika li miet fuq ommu. L-istorja tirrepeti ruħha.”

“L-art, partikolarment dik pubblika, hija riżorsa prezzjuża. Li hemm hemm. Li hu żgur hu li m’għandhiex bżonn aktar lukandi, għax għandna aktar minn biżżejjed, u allura ma jagħmilx sens li art pubblika tibqa’ tingħata għal żvilupp turistiku. Lanqas ma jagħmel sens li art pubblika li ngħatat għat-turiżmu titħalla tintuża għall-ispekulazzjoni tal-propjetà. L-lispekulazzjoni mhux investiment vera u serju li jħalli l-ġid, anzi jagħmel ħsara kbira lis-soċjetà. L-ispekulazzjoni, barra li tħajjar iżvilupp eċċessiv bil-problemi kbar li jġib miegħu, ifisser li l-prezzijiet kemm tax-xiri kif ukoll tal-kiri jsiru eċċessivi għall-parti l-kbira tan-nies. Meta l-prezzijiet tal-propjetà, anke djar u appartamenti normali, jisplodu ‘l fuq, dan iġib effetti ħżiena fuq il-kwalità tal-ħajja tal-familji, għax il-pagi u d-dħul tal-familji ma jikbirx bl-istess rata. Jfisser ukoll li minflok l-flus fl-ekonomija jmorru għal investimenti utli u f’investiment fit-taħriġ tal-ħaddiema u teknoloġija ġdida, jmur f’assi reqdin – fil-ġebel minflok fin-nies.”

***

History repeats itself – cover-ups, political interference and cosying up with speculators

The Fortina Hotel revelation is another tale of cover-ups and a lack of good governance.  All this appears to be coordinated by the Office of the Prime Minister at Castille, purposely benefiting those close to those in power.  At the same time, it is a story involving the cover-up of the evaluation of the transfer of public land, another incident of speculation of public land with the blessing of Parliament.  It is speculation which results in people being unable to afford to buy a house at a reasonable price, suffering the consequences of the property price explosion that has taken place over the years. 

ADPD-The Green Party Chairperson Sandra Gauci said: “We are now used to the fact that good governance means nothing to the government.  It meant nothing to Joseph Muscat and to the head of his secretariat Keith Schembri, and it has no meaning to Robert Abela, who has always sought to justify it and turn it into partisan politics.  Why were the different land valuation reports kept secret?  It is only natural that such questions are asked after the revelations in the report by the Auditor General.”

“The new agreement that was concluded in 2019, with the approval of Parliament, means that many of the conditions in relation to the land transfer were lifted.  Amongst these conditions was that the land was to be used exclusively for tourism.  The so-called no-build zones were removed, as well as the limits on building heights.  Any restrictions on landscaping and substations were scrapped.  In all, practically all obligations were scrapped, with no new obligations to take their place.  The land was opened up for speculation.” 

“And then there is the issue of the reports on the land valuation which were not disclosed.  The Auditor has found that the Lands Authority did not do its work.  He found a lack of documentation, political interference in the land valuations and what seems like a sweetheart deal served to the Fortina group.  Conflicting valuations were hidden rather than acknowledged and discussed in a transparent manner.  And Joseph Muscat has the nerve to defend all this.”

“Now that the report of the Auditor General clearly shows that Robert Vella, CEO of the Lands Authority, was involved in this cover-up, will Vella resign? The government is duty-bound to collect the public money from the Zammit Tabona family responsible for the Fortina. It is ultimately a case for the Police to protect the public interest.”

ADPD-The Green Party Secretary General Dr Ralph Cassar added: “The hidden valuation reports aside, it must also be emphasised that the Parliamentary Standing Committee approved the change of conditions, meaning public land originally earmarked for tourism is now used for property speculation on commercial and residential properties. This speculation is being subsidized by our taxes.  Parliament is clearly in favour of speculation that increases the price of residential property for everyone else.  Whilst salaries have increased at an average of 43% between 2013 and 2023, average property prices have increased by 100%.”

 “This is the same story repeating itself all over again and again. Public land has been given away with the blessing of Parliament, for hotels, only to have terms of use changed to allow speculation on public land. We have also seen public land transferred up front for speculation for the benefit of the few.  Amongst such projects are the land given to the Hilton and Portomaso in St Julians, the former ITS premises in Pembroke, Manoel Island, The Point and Fort Cambridge in Sliema, and Rinella for Smart City. The latter project was meant to be a centre for IT companies, which as we know never materialised, and has now ended up yet another real estate speculation ‘project’.”

“Land, in particular public land, is a precious resource. What is certain is that we do not need more hotels, because we have more than enough of those, and so it makes no sense for more public land to be given for that purpose. It also makes no sense for public land originally earmarked for tourism to have conditions of transfer changed to allow property speculation.  Speculation is not an investment that benefits society.  Besides fueling excessive overdevelopment and all the problems associated with it, it also means that buying and renting property becomes difficult for people who just need a decent place to live in.  When property prices, including houses and apartments, soar, this will have a negative impact on the quality of life of families, because salaries and family earning do not increase at the same rate.  Economically, speculation means that money is diverted from useful investment, such as in worker training and in new technology, and instead goes into dormant assets, literally ‘fixed’ in stone!”.