Moviment Graffitti Calls For Probe Into Lands Authority Official Who Rented Public Land To His Restaurant For A Pittance
Civil Society group Moviment Graffitti has called for an investigation into a Lands Authority official who was forced to resign after it emerged that he had failed to declare a conflict of interest when renting out public land to a restaurant he is involved in.
According to a report in the Times of Malta today, Matthew Zammit was forced to resign from his senior management role by the authority’s CEO Robert Vella last month.
“The scandals taking place at the Lands Authority are increasing and getting bigger,” the group said in a Facebook post this morning.
“Between the shameful Infrastructure Malta expropriations, the renting out of public space on the cheap to this official and the manner in which auditors were stopped from working, the smell of corruption is becoming increasingly strong.”
It added that there was no point to the Prime Minister, and the government, promising change in light of the findings of the public inquiry into the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia if no action is taken about such revelations.
Zammit’s resignation was forced through after it emerged that he had secured a €20-a-day ground rent on a Senglea property which is currently being used by a restaurant he is involved in.
The report stated that Zammit, a longtime Labour activist, is now reporting for work at Ian Borg’s transport ministry. Zammit has served as a canvasser for Family Minister Michael Falzon in the past.
In its post, Movement Graffitti called for a “serious investigation” into what is happening to the country’s land, about Farrugia’s office’s “extracurricular activities”. The impunity with which the authority operates needed to be reined in, the group said, adding that Zammit also needed to be investigated by the police.
What do you make of this story?
READ NEXT: We Were Tricked By People We Trusted And Admired, Chris Fearne Admits In Powerful Speech
