Public deserves answers on Roderick Galdes’s conflicts of interest – Alex Borg
Galdes should resign until he can clear his name, says PN leader
The public deserves answers on the ‘saga’ of Housing Minister Roderick Galdes’s dealings with developers, Opposition leader Alex Borg said on Sunday.
Borg referred to a Sunday Times of Malta investigation that revealed Galdes bartered an apartment in Xagħra for a plot of land in Għarb that was being bought by property magnates Joseph Portelli, Mark Agius and Daniel Refalo.
Galdes’s property dealings with Excel, the company owned by the developers, were already under scrutiny ,as the minister also landed himself a “bargain” penthouse and garage in Victoria, Gozo this year from the same company.
And earlier in December, the former chairperson of Malita Investments Marlene Mizzi accused Galdes of meddling in the running of the company, which falls under his ministry, and of “hobnobbing” with contractors that the company had engaged.
“People are realising that there are serious conflicts of interest that Galdes must explain,” Borg said during an interview on NET TV on Sunday morning.
"Young people are struggling to find a bargain on the property market, but Galdes didn't have a problem doing so," he added.
Borg said the Nationalist Party was insisting on Galdes’s resignation, not on a whim but owing to the fact he is under investigation by the National Audit Office and the Standards Commmissioner.
“If he can clear his name then he should be allowed back in. But until then, the public deserves transparency and accountability.”
‘Still plenty left to do for PN’
With the 100-day milestone of his election to the post of PN leader fast approaching, Borg said one of his main aims was to reach out to the public.
“The role of Opposition leader shouldn’t just be in Dar Centrali [PN headquarters], but out keeping direct contact with people,” he said.
“There’s still plenty left to do. We need to convince people that we have a strong vision. We are still underdogs even though surveys show the gap is shrinking.”
Borg added that he wanted people to remain ambitious, and for them to fulfil their ambitions in Malta.
He also insisted that he would come good on his promise to publish PN’s accounts within his first 100 days as leader.