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Julian Manduca
The ministry responsible for lands has denied that it has ever offered Dom Mintoff the Inquisitor’s Palace as compensation for loss of human rights over his summer home L-Gharix, MaltaToday has been told.
On September 7 of this year the controversial former four-time Prime Minister said in his appeal to the Constitutional Court that it “did not give weight to the fact I was offered the sum of one million liri for L-Gharix and that the Inquisitor’s Palace was offered as an alternative” when awarding compensation to the tune of Lm360,000.
When MaltaToday asked the minister responsible for justice and lands, Tonio Borg who offered the Palace to Mintoff the reply was: “The Government Property Division has never offered the Inquisitors Palace or any other palace to ex-premier Dom Mintoff as compensation on his summer residence l-Gharix.”
On his part the minister responsible for culture and historical buildings Francis Zammit Dimech, told MaltaToday: “There was never a suggestion that the Ministry for Tourism and Culture knows of, to offer the Inquisitor’s Palace as compensation to Dom Mintoff. As such there was no such deal.” Asked what he thought of the idea, Zammit Dimech said: “I can only reply that it is absolute nonsense.”
The ministers’ replies do not, however, exclude the fact that the Palace could have been offered to Mintoff by another wing of government or by a top official of the government.
In his court statement Mintoff also took the government to task for not following up agreements for an alternative residence at Fawwara, at the site previously occupied by Deutsche Welle and another site in the vicinity known as ix-Xifer.
In his appeal, however, Mintoff is no longer asking for an alternative residence and has asked the court to award him a higher amount than Lm360,000.
Attempts to clarify who could have offered Mintoff the Inquisitor’s Palace proved futile this week as the former Premier told MaltaToday to ask his lawyers, who in turn told MaltaToday that they will have to ask Mintoff before supplying an answer. Both Professor Ian Refalo and Dr Joseph M Buttigieg said they would have to consult with their client before supplying an answer, but up to the time of going to print Mintoff had not backed up his claim.
The government on its part, has also appealed the Court decision to grant Mintoff Lm360,000 and is asking that a lower amount be awarded.
julian@newsworksltd.com
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