It is such a shame that the Commissioner of Lands and the Director of Estates Management have not, as yet, come across any breach of the lease agreements of the commercial premises belonging to the government, or rather to you and I and to all of us.
I have ad nauseam written and spoke about this flagrant infringement of these lease agreements but it seems that the people at the Auberge de Baviere, where the Commissioner and the Director have their offices, still have not deemed it fit to conduct an audit of how many of these premises are abiding by the lease agreement.
The Commissioner of Lands or the Director of Estates Management have always replied that I should report any such breaches because as far as they are concerned they do not know of any. Of course, I do not intend to tread on the corns of those who are paid from our taxes to ensure that government property is well-kept and well-taken care of. But I am here to, once again, highlight that these infringements are still taking place, and that they are taking place at our expense.
As you may be aware, all leases granted by the government preclude the right to sublet without the government’s permission. This is a standard clause found in all these agreements. But as you may also be aware, many have a found a convenient loophole in these agreements so that they are now leasing the premises in the form of a management agreement, so that the same premises are run by other persons extraneous to the lease and many times the change of lease brings with it a change in the destination of the business as well.
But lo and behold, the Director and /or the Commissioner are not aware of this reality and they continue to accept the lease from the people who have breached the lease conditions. And if it is true that neither of them is aware of these abuses, I advise them to send a clerk to check every commercial premises belonging to the government in Valletta, and to report if they are being run by the people acknowledged in the agreement, and if the premises have not changed their nature of the business.
I can safely say that so far that these people at the Auberge have failed to even compile an inventory of government property, and so I will not be surprised if they are unaware of the breaches that are taking place. It is not my intention to be a busybody but it is not fair for these people to become rich at the taxpayers’ expense by leasing the premises in the form of a management agreement at a hefty sum from which the taxpayers get nothing at all.
How this abuse is allowed I cannot tell because you do not need to be at the Department of Lands to realise how a certain shop, until a few years ago, was a retail shop and now it is a restaurant; or how the facades have changed. Not only that, but certain restaurants are sited beneath historical monuments and buildings, and the Commissioner of Lands does not, as yet, see fit to ensure that such businesses are properly insured in case of a gas leakage or a gas explosion. Although let’s face it, no amount of insurance cover can replace the damage caused by any leakage or gas explosion in our precious Valletta monuments and palaces!

And if the Director of Estates Management does not have the manpower to carry out such an audit, I invite him to limit the exercise to just one street in Valletta such as Republic or Merchants or St John’s Square, in order to set our mind at rest there is no unjustified enrichment taking place at our expense.
The government knows who these people are and where these premises are; so much so that a couple of years ago I remember seeing a letter sent by the Lands Department to one of those who took over by means of a management agreement to call at the department. But it seems that votes are more precious than proper management of government property, and the matter stopped there.
I am sure that the Ramblers Association are very familiar and very worried about the profusion of sites with the words ‘RTO’ that we find in our countryside in sites which are obviously public property because of the presence of gun posts or tower. But might is right in this environment and the system is also urging us to follow suit as there is no deterrent.
Not only that but the law favours the abusers, because the more the Commissioner and the Director of Estates Management drag their feet, the stronger the title over that particular property of those who have taken the law in their own hands.
Another abuse of government property that has been going on for ages is the issue of vacant inheritance. Our law says that after 40 years, vacant inheritance passes on to the government and the court appoints a lawyer, usually to take good care of the assets of that inheritance. But neither Commissioner of Lands nor the Director feels the need to keep an inventory of these appointments and vacant inheritances as declared by the court, so that after 40 years, such property ends up everywhere except in the hands of the government.
I see that the notices on disposal of public property in the government gazette have stopped, and I was told that the present administration has realized that there is a problem in the handling of this property. I also know that the present administration is thinking of increasing the surcharge because of the increase in the oil prices. But before doing so, can the present administration devise ways and means of recouping part of this expenditure from other sources, such as the case in issue?
It is true that there are many political implications and what it can do is tell those who possess the shops and the restaurants in question to either pay a certain amount of money if they want to be recognised as the new lessees, or to move out; but definitely it is not fair on the public to continue to pay more taxes.
Another way to generate revenue and spare us an increase in the surcharge is to give the Joint Office enough manpower to collect about Lm5 million that the people want to pay to the government for redemption of emphyteusis of government property, but which the government prefers to keep them waiting on the list instead of grapping the opportunity and credit the public coffers with that money.
The message is clear: collect your tax arrears first, get in place the situation of leasing of commercial premises, and only then speak of an increase in surcharge.