The government’s investment holding company Malita Investments has been shifted from the finance ministry to the social accommodation ministry.
A cabinet office official told Times of Malta that the change in ministerial responsibility is intended to ensure the maximum efficiency of social accommodation projects that Malita is financing.
“Malita is responsible for the construction and management of hundreds of affordable housing units in a number of localities. In this respect, it made sense to have Malita within the portfolio of the Ministry for Social and Affordable Accommodation," the official said.
The latter is specifically responsible for such projects and it is developing similar projects in other parts of the country.
When contacted, Finance Minister Clyde Caruana confirmed that Malita was no longer his responsibility but had no comment to make.
Malita is responsible for a €50 million project to build more than 750 apartments and 500 parking spaces across 16 different locations, which will be made available to social housing applicants.
The company will pocket Housing Authority subsidies that renters use to pay for the apartments. It is financing the project through loans obtained from the European Investment Bank and Council of Europe Investment Bank.
News that Malita is no longer under Caruana’s ministerial purview is likely to set tongues wagging, following allegations by blogger and author Mark Camilleri that Caruana and Prime Minister Robert Abela were involved in a "scuffle" this week.
Criminal lawyer and former MP Franco Debono subsequently alleged on social media that the scuffle happened following a disagreement involving Malita Investments.
Neither Abela nor Caruana have commented about the rumoured confrontation. Both were present for a Malta Council for Economic and Social Development meeting with social partners on Friday.
Challenged to deny the rumour on Saturday, Labour Party president Ramona Attard sidestepped the question. “I don’t pay attention to blogs. I was a victim of lies published on blogs in the past,” Attard said.
She was speaking on Andrew Azzopardi’s radio show on 103 Malta’s Heart, opposite PN general secretary Michael Piccinino and ADPD deputy general secretary Mario Mallia.
Malita Investments serves as an investment vehicle for the government, allowing it to tap markets to raise capital for infrastructural projects. It has been used for infrastructural projects such as the Malta International Airport, Valletta Cruise Port, parliament building in Valletta and its adjacent open-air theatre.