The Labour Party yesterday called on Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi to declare what he knew of the case implicating Nationalist MP Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando and the permit issued for the development of a disco on his land in Mistra.
The Mistra development case broke out in the last week of the electoral campaign when Alfred Sant revealed that an outline development permit had been granted for a discotheque on Pullicino Orland’s land in Mistra.
“As more facts emerge on the scandal at Mistra and the personal involvement of Pullicino Orlando, the obligation on the Prime Minister to say the truth on this scandal is growing,” the party said yesterday in a statement.
Pullicino Orlando has claimed he “told the party about all the facts that had to do with me,” contradicting the notion that the PN was unaware of facts such as the lease contract between Dr Pullicino Orlando and Domenic Micallef, the owner of the company DJRL Dance Ltd which intended to develop the disco on the MP’s land.
The statement has raised the question of whether the PN knew all along that the MP indeed knew of the project when he denied any knowledge of it, choosing to field the MP for the elections, who was then returned on two districts.
While Pullicino Orlando claimed all throughout the electoral campaign that he was unaware of the project on his land and of who had applied for a planning permit, proof of his knowledge on the project was exposed when a lease contract was published by the Labour party.
In the process, the Nationalist party stood by its MP, with secretary-general Joe Saliba turning up with Pullicino Orlando at a Broadcasting Authority press conference to challenge former Labour leader Alfred Sant to face him on the allegations against him.
Labour is now demanding that the prime minister declare whether he was aware of the details surrounding the Mistra project when Pullicino Orlando defiantly claimed he was unaware of the details of the project.
“Today it is being proved that Pullicino Orlando had lied when on 1 March at a press conference he declared he knew nothing of the development of the disco on his land. After his declaration, a number of documents were published in the last days of the electoral campaign proving that Pullicino Orlando had lied because he knew well what had been proposed for his land. Despite all this, Lawrence Gonzi stuck his neck out for him up to the last moment of the election campaign,” Labour said yesterday.
Among these documents was the lease agreement itself signed by Pullicino Orlando and Micallef, detailing the project itself.
The issue took a new twist on Monday when a former Malta Tourism Authority consultant George Micallef, who drew up two reports on the Mistra application – one as a private consultant, and the other as MTA consultant to put forward the tourism policies supporting the development of the disco – claimed he was pressured by the MP and a MEPA official to support the disco application.
Former environment minister George Pullicino has denied Micallef’s claims (see page 5).
Pullicino Orlando has also denied reports that he personally put pressure on members of the MEPA Development Control Commission to “keep an eye out” on the Mistra Bay application.
“Despite all these facts, Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando not only said he had not lied about the Mistra case, but he also claimed he had told the PN all the facts of the case which concerned him,” Labour said.
“Such a declaration puts a national obligation on Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi as leader of the PN, to clearly declare the whole truth on the facts known to him on the Mistra case during the electoral campaign, and on what basis did he allow Pullicino Orlando to be a PN candidate for the elections. It’s in the public interest and in the name of transparency that the Prime Minister cannot remain silent.
“The Prime Minister also has the obligation to explain how political responsibility will be carried for the irregularities at MEPA. In the Mistra case, only the MEPA auditor has made it clear that the permit should have never been issued, but that in such circumstances the accusations of corruption were inevitable.”
Labour also referred to accusations of pressure by Pullicino Orlando and a high level offcial in the ministry of George Pullicino: “How did Pullicino not know what was happening at Mistra? George Pullicino has an obligation to explain what he knew of the permit, especially since Dr Gonzi has chosen him once again to form part of his Cabinet.”

Government reaction
In a statement it issued yesterday, the government condemned Labour for “trying to influence the police investigations on the Mistra case through its statements and the media”.
“It looks like once again, the Labour party is trying to interfere in the independent investigations for political purposes or ulterior motives. The Prime Minister has already said he would not be commenting on the case as as long as the investigations are still pending. Government appeals to the Labour party and its media to stop influencing the investigations.”

Pressure claims
The former consultant to the MTA, George Micallef, said on Monday that Pullicino Orlando had exerted pressure with regard to the Mistra development, with Pullicino Orlando insisting he “did not exercise or attempt to exercise any undue pressure on any public official to do anything short of his duty or to act in any way contrary to his convictions, conscience or responsibility”.
Micallef claimed he had received several calls from Pullicino Orlando on the issue and also “reluctantly” attended a meeting with Pullicino Orlando and two officials, who he later discovered were the chairman and a member of the DCC which later issued the outline development permit for the development at Mistra.
Micallef said he was repeatedly contacted by Pullicino Orlando and “a Mepa/ministry official” on the proposed development and about the MTA’s intentions with regard to the management of Mistra Bay in collaboration with property owners.

George Pullicino denies pressure claims – page 5 3