Two weeks have passed since this newspaper exposed Infrastructure Malta and their expropriations sham.
Having accustomed us to interminably long press releases riddled with doublespeak – whether it’s weak justifications for multi-million “road upgrading” projects or wobbly denials of their numerous misdeeds – Infrastructure Malta’s silence speaks louder than Infrastructure Minister Ian Borg’s boorish declarations during the three weeks of Dingli.
There was no long press release denying the claims made by farmers and their legal representatives; no rebuttal at what are usually branded as “unfounded claims”; and, far less, no response to Moviment Graffitti’s call for an investigation into IM’s expropriation processes.
Our darkest suspicions have been confirmed: besides granting itself huge power through numerous legal notices and bye-laws drafted in its favour (take, for example, the countless times in which works commenced without a permit), Infrastructure Malta is now also abusing these laws and refusing to pay farmers their dues.
According to law, IM should follow the Lands’ Authority’s procedures in the exercise of its powers to expropriate lands. But this is not really happening.
In Dingli, on the morning of March 22, contractors moved onto private land without having permission from all landowners.
We questioned an IM foreman called Clint to produce paperwork from Lands during a livestream aired on Facebook (March 23); nothing emerged. And while Clint was busier telling residents and activists they were a “biċċa ċittadin” who have no right to know what’s happening in their backyard (multiple eyewitnesses also saw him slap an activist), someone in IM’s bunker realised we smelt the ruse and ordered expropriations to be rushed through Lands.
Borg, on the third day, asked Environment Minister Aaron Farrugia to mediate and set up a meeting between both sides; expropriations were one of the four key points on the agenda. But Borg – possibly under pressure from the bullish Fredrick Azzopardi of Infrastructure Malta – decided this matter had “nothing to do with Dingli” and duly issued a hasty press release to call off the meeting.
The meeting would eventually be held two weeks later and expropriations were indeed on the table. On that same morning, Azzopardi stated on Lovin Malta that IM had all paperwork in hand and could have started works in October 2020.
But the expropriation notices were only published in The Malta Government Gazette on April 12, almost a month after our action started. One wonders if Azzopardi “forgot” about compensating landowners in October and, again, in March; I’m sure he’ll thank us for insisting on the matter.
Other farmers in different areas have also confirmed they are yet to receive a cent. Take, for example, the much-trumpeted promenade in Għeriexem, Rabat, a road repair project that will suddenly become a golden mile for kiosk concessionaires. IM snatched up much more land from this particular farmer than it had originally stated.
Curiously, the Lands Authority only sent registration forms to Għeriexem landowners around the same period as the Dingli expropriations were being hurried through.
A few months away from an election, Frederick Azzopardi and Ian Borg have chosen to keep their heads down- Wayne Flask
In Żabbar, IM called up a family of landowners and “asked” them to agree to expropriate, without being given a value for their land. The absence of a gun pointed to the family’s heads was indeed conspicuous.
There are other cases concerning people who are too scared to speak up against Azzopardi and his agency.
Earlier in January, an NAO report flagged a number of irregularities in IM’s operations. These include the issue of over €16 million in illegal pre-financing to three select contractors in full breach of tender conditions and payments issued against irregular fiscal receipts.
Azzopardi’s people blamed “lack of staff” for this.
It’s an excuse so very characteristic of IM that they have unwittingly admitted they aren’t to be trusted with the regular administration of EU funds. Considering the fact that the Transport Ministry employs a sizeable chunk of Borg’s electoral district, tales of understaffing would make lambs laugh out loudly – including Ġużu tal-Beżuża’s newborn.
Now that the expropriations sham has gone public, IM’s silence only makes sense. Having used a divide-and-rule tactic that paid dividends in IM’s first years, the agency has now been outed as a state-sponsored landgrabber. All this happened well away from the public eye, their hopes hinging on landowners’ fears of speaking up. A few months away from an election and possible changes of the guard, Azzopardi and Borg have chosen to keep their heads down, hoping to kill off the story.
Instead, the state’s road builder has dedicated itself to monuments. The hideous N(h)ar in Santa Luċija rises from a roundabout robbed of its trees and is a castrated replica of the Tribuna Anti Imperialista in Havana, a monument with hundreds of Cuban flags in a show of resistance to Yankee oppressors. The irony.
Earlier last week, we read of how IM wanted to install a seven-foot statue of the Virgin Mary in Mosta, ignoring the fact that in between endless roadworks, arrogance and shoddy work, the agency itself is a net contributor to the National Blasphemy Index.
Azzopardi may find his newly found love for statues as a fitting swansong to his venture at IM. Like Borg, IM’s CEO has dimmed the lights, doing his best to avoid controversies such as those arising from his expropriation tactics. It would allow him to get away with what amounts to abuse of power and straight through a revolving door into the private sector.
Worry not, Fred: we’ll keep those lights on.
Wayne Flask, member, Moviment Graffitti