Lands Authority refuses to provide contract on PM’s illegal occupation of Valletta office

The Shift Team - 15. May. 2023

The Lands Authority has rejected a Freedom of Information request on the Valletta property the prime minister and his wife continue to occupy despite the lease having expired in 2017, in what was a 150-year agreement.

Robert and Lydia Abela are refusing to leave the premises located on 53/3, Strait Street, and the Lands Authority is doing nothing to evict them.

According to law, the agency cannot even receive rent from the couple since it cannot accept payment from squatters.

Asked for a copy of the lease agreement, the Lands Authority refused, saying “the public interest served by non-disclosure outweighs the public interest in disclosure.”

The Authority responsible for administering public land and property insists these are “internal documents”.

According to law, the Lands Authority, now under the responsibility of Minister Silvio Schembri, was obliged to file a case in court to evict the tenants.

Yet, six years after the property should have been returned to the public, the Lands Authority refuses to press charges since the occupants are the prime minister and his wife.

The law states that if the Lands Authority wishes to renew the lease of the property, it has to issue a new tender. The Abelas would then need to compete with other contenders to lease the building.

The Shift has requested a revision of the decision in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act.

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M&M

2 years ago

Squatters by choice, because they have the means to pay for their offices. Of course, their greed is ultimately paid by the tax payer.

Guest

LA the squatter

2 years ago

The Lands Authority’s tricks do not trick anybody, and are an unlawful basis to refuse FOIs.

There are legal definitions for “internal document”, within local and EU law. LA knows this well and, yet, they invent spurious interpretations with the sole objective of refusing FOI requests. The rate of FOIs accepted by LA must be less than 1%.

Mafialand does not like transparency because it exposes their mafiosi.

Had Malta had a responsible LA, the country would have half the corruption.

Guest

raymond

2 years ago

Pigging out whatever they can.

Guest

Toni Borg

2 years ago

so not only do they get to keep the office, but also not pay for it!!

The Lands Authority is a Government, ergo Public entity, and therefore any documents it holds are of PUBLIC interest unless obviously they want to continue hiding the mound of sh*t they are digging themselves into!

Guest

Kurt

2 years ago

Is that fraud?

Guest

dzamm

2 years ago

And who is the chief lawyer at the Lands Authority? ?.Ramona Attard – the President of the Labour Party! She prefers acting against the public interest rather than doing her job and take action against her boss. A clear conflict of interest.

Guest

dzamm

2 years ago

In this day and age, the Lands Authority stated that it is still gathering information about its vacant properties in Valletta. Gahan is that person who believes all these blatant lies!

As long as Labour is in power, rest assured that no action will be taken against Robert Abela to be evicted. He will keep on using the premises without even paying! The important thing is that we common mortals keep on paying our taxes.