An internal audit conducted last year by the Lands Authority established that the occupiers of a protected Binġemma fort – complete with an illegally built swimming pool – have no legal title over the land.

The audit, published in parliament this month, confirmed that an order for the tenants to be evicted from the fort in 2009 was never executed by what was then known as the lands department, nor by the present authority.

During a visit to the site on Sunday to establish whether the authorities had finally acted, Times of Malta was greeted by one of the squatters and three of his barking guard dogs.

“You came here to cause problems... I have you on camera,” the squatter said from atop the fort, situated on the crest of a hill with commanding views of the island.

Social media photos by Steve Buttigieg, the occupier of the fort.

When it was pointed out that it was he who was in the wrong, the squatter insisted the fort is his. 

The words ‘private property’ have been spray-painted over parts of the fort, with the main entrance gated off and rendered inaccessible to the public.

At least two cars were spotted inside the fort, including an expensive-looking white Mercedes with weekend licence plates.

Originally built in 1878 as part of the Victoria Lines, the fort’s purpose was to defend the island from an invasion.

The place, however, has since fallen victim to its own invasion, with the authorities over the decades doing nothing to evict the family squatting on public land.

It was originally leased to Gaetano Buttigieg for cow-rearing just before the 1981 general election.

Lease expired in 1997

The Lands Authority audit says the lease, which never allowed the fort to be used as a private residence, expired in 1997.

The government’s property division, however, kept on accepting rent from the Buttigieg family, even after the lease expired.

You came here to cause problems... I have you on camera

In 2009, the audit established that an order was given to stop accepting the rent and evict the family occupying the fort.

The Buttigieg family, nicknamed Tal-Landa, demanded to be given alternative accommodation by the government.

Auditor Tiffany Ann Attard confirmed that up until the date of the April 2021 audit, the Buttigieg family had continued to occupy the Binġemma fort, despite having no legal title to the land.

Attard, who is no longer with the Lands Authority, said that it was the property department’s “inaction” which had led to this situation.

She recommended that the Lands Authority “takes the necessary steps” to ensure the fort in Binġemma is returned to the government.

Questions sent to the Lands Authority on Friday, asking whether the “necessary steps” had been taken, were not answered.