Education Minister eyes demolition of €1.2m Rabat villa

Education Minister Clifton Grima is eyeing the demolition of a €1.2 million Rabat villa in a sensitive area of archaeological importance.

Grima’s family applied to demolish the existing villa in the Tal-Virtù area of Rabat and replace it with a newly built detached villa, together with a basement garage and pool.

A Planning Authority case officer’s report last year noted how excavation works for basements are not normally allowed in areas of archaeological importance.

The same report, however, noted that an outline permit for the proposal was already given in 2020, subject to monitoring by the cultural heritage watchdog.

Rabat enjoys high levels of protection due to the prevalence of archaeological discoveries in the area.

Property records obtained by Times of Malta show Grima bought the Rabat villa in 2023 for €1.2 million.

The purchase was funded by a €1.4 million sale of the minister’s St Julian’s townhouse, which can be developed into apartments, to a consortium of developers, which includes Joseph Portelli.

All contracts proposed by the minister were cabinet decisions which was unanimously approved by all of parliament- Clifton Grima's spokesperson

Grima finalised the sale of his St Julian’s property to CF Developers Limited in February 2023.

At the time, Portelli was one of CF Developer’s co-owners. He has since announced that he will be relinquishing his shares in the company.

In parallel with the minister’s private dealings with Portelli, Grima’s ministry was in talks with the developer’s football club Ħamrun Spartans over the lease of the Victor Tedesco Stadium.

It was Grima, in his role as sports minister, who in January 2023 presented the parliamentary motion to transfer the land to Ħamrun Spartans.

In March 2023 the minister presided over the signing over a deal which saw the club secure the stadium’s lease from the government for 49 years at a 95% discount on ground rent payments.

Grima never publicly disclosed his €1.4 million property deal with Portelli’s company during these talks.

The minister presiding over the lease agreement with Ħamrun Spartans owner Joseph Portelli (left).

'No conflict of interest'

Speaking to Times of Malta, a spokesperson for Grima denied any suggestion of conflict of interest.

“There is no conflict of interest as regards the sports facilities concession to Ħamrun Spartans. It is important to note that there are 114 clubs that are benefitting from such concessions.

“It is to be noted that all contracts proposed by the minister were approved in parliament under identical conditions.

“The minister makes it clear that Ħamrun Spartans received no preferential treatment whatsoever, nor any conditions different from those given to other clubs and associations under the same scheme.”

The spokesperson said the club had been making use of the stadium facilities for decades and did not acquire any additional property through this process.

The minister makes it clear that Ħamrun Spartans received no preferential treatment whatsoever, nor any conditions different from those given to other clubs and associations under the same scheme- Clifton Grima's spokesperson

Grima’s spokesperson said the reduced rate on the ground rent payments is a standard government subsidy extended to all sports organisations benefitting from such schemes.

“In all such instances, the text of the contract is basically identical,” the spokesperson said.

The spokesperson said SportMalta, which falls under the minister’s control, received the request from Ħamrun Spartans to initiate this process in January 2021, two years prior to the property deal.

Grima’s spokesperson added that all contracts proposed by the minister were cabinet decisions which was unanimously approved by all of parliament.