Mistra Scandal

I am the leaseholder of the land involved in the Mistra controversy, which has dominated the local media ever since Alfred Sant decided to make it a major issue before the last general election. I have decided to rebut some of the allegations being made which, I feel, are causing me a lot of unjustified embarrassment.

I approached Nationalist MP Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando, who has been the protagonist in the issue, some three years ago to lease the land I found out was his through notarial searches after I recognised its potential as an open air entertainment area. What attracted me to the site was its proximity to another development, making the issuing of a permit more feasible, and the fact that it was in a place that was cut off from built-up zones. This, together with the fact that I was planning on using acoustic equipment which focuses sound to a particular area, would have meant that the nuisance value of the development would have been nullified.

I was incensed when I read the interview of the Malta Environment and Planning Authority audit officer, Joe Falzon, carried in The Sunday Times of May 11. Most of the furore associated with the case started after Mr Falzon had suggested that "accusations of corruption are inevitable and difficult to refute" in his report dealing with the case. In the interview carried two weeks ago, he states that there was "nothing extraordinary about the case", and says that it was made even more sensational because "the man (JPO) is involved in politics and you have to see the scale of what is permitted, because it was just too much".

First, JPO was not involved in the project in any way, so his first assertion makes no sense. JPO is simply the owner of the land I leased. Second, it is inexplicable how Falzon considers what is basically a paved area of 750m2 with a platform with timber flooring less than two metres high as a large scale project.

What is even more galling is the fact that Mr Falzon was the chairman of the DCC board which approved the development next door which drew me to the site in the first place.

This development was only pending for one year before approval was granted. The application for my project was pending for more than two years and I had only received an outline approval after all that time.

What's worse is that the DPA report concerning the project next door recommended refusal and the board met to discuss and approve the project on the same date. No submissions were requested, nor was there time for any submissions to be presented obviously.

This project was obviously fast tracked. It involved a project which was of a much larger scale than the one I applied for. A couple of dilapidated rooms were going to be converted into a recording studio, a pizzeria and a restaurant. In the interview carried two weeks ago, Mr Falzon simply dismisses this by saying "the truth is that some of the mistakes which are being made today could have been made by us too". How's that for double standards! Does the man realise that he was slandering his professional colleagues in the DCC board when he mentioned corruption and that he was putting me in a bad light.

I am angry at becoming embroiled in a political game. I am disappointed at the behaviour of certain individuals involved, particularly a lawyer who leaked the contract that was entrusted to him by a business associate. I felt I had to speak out, even though circumstances dictate I should do so with restraint at this stage, because I feel that my rights and dignity have been trampled upon unnecessarily.