The Nationalist Party will only make its position clear on whether the controversial ITS deal should be revoked after its parliamentary group debates the concerns raised by the auditor general, according to general secretary Francis Zammit Dimech.

The probe was launched in 2017 following a request by Simon Busuttil who was opposition leader at the time.

Party sources said no date had yet been established for the next parliamentary group meeting and it could be some time before it would be convened as parliament had just risen for the Easter recess. The sources asked why the party had not even issued a statement on the report, given that the findings had to a degree vindicated its claims that the deal had not been handled in the right manner.

The lack of any sort of reaction has fuelled criticism that the party, which is in dire financial straits, is giving in to pressure not to irk or burn any bridges with db Group, which is behind the ITS deal.

In 2017, Busuttil had denounced the deal as tantamount to selling a prime public asset for a pittance, and the db Group had fired back requesting the party refund the salaries of its top officials, which it claimed were being financed through its donations. The claims were vehemently denied by the PN saying its officials were being paid from party funds.

Asked if the issue had anything to do with the PN’s reluctance to comment on the NAO report, Zammit Dimech pointed out that the party had recently submitted the list of donors for 2019 to the Electoral Commission in line with the party financing act. db Group was not among the donors, he said.

Zammit Dimech added it was absurd to suggest that the party had been silent on this issue when it was the PN itself that had referred the matter to the NAO for investigation.

As for the concerns raised by the NAO, Zammit Dimech said the investigation proved the opposition right with respect to the concerns it had raised.

In its report, the NAO report raised doubts on the land transfer deal between the government and db Group, which involved the Institute of Tourism Studies building in St George’s Bay.

The Auditor General expressed concerns on various fronts such as the transparency of the deal, failure by certain members of the negotiation committee to provide any input and the absence of the Government Property Division throughout the process.

It also emerged that former tourism minister Konrad Mizzi, who was responsible for Projects Malta, which piloted the deal, declined to meet the auditor general about it.

A few days ago, the Malta Developers’ Association called on the government to seek advice on whether the deal could be revoked. Asked if the PN subscribed to this view, Zammit Dimech said this had not yet been decided.

While noting that the NAO report had flagged a flagrant case of bad governance, “as is typical of the present Labour government”, Zammit Dimech said the PN would only be taking a position after debating the findings within the parliamentary group. He noted that the party had always taken a vociferous stand whenever the government had been involved in property deals which were not for the common good.

He mentioned the stance taken in the Gaffarena scandal involving a palazzo in Valletta, the Café Premier saga also in Valletta, and Australia Hall in Pembroke.