Focus on enforcement action – Jason Azzopardi

The Malta Indipendent online
12 March 2010

by Chiara Bonello


A record number of enforcement action, a new Land and Estate Management Information System (LEMIS) and some 345 agricultural leases were just some of the works carried out by the office of Parliamentary Secretary, Jason Azzopardi during the past year.

Dr Azzopardi, who was giving an overview of the steps they had taken to achieve their aims of improving the system and moving closer to the general public, said the reforms had made life a great deal easier.

345 agricultural leases had been granted in Gozo alone over the past year, he said, which did away with the necessity of their taking a day off to come to Malta to do this.

The scheme to grant the title of field rent was launched by the Government Property Department in 2000, and had some 10,000 applicants, 3,000 of whom came from Gozo.

The announcement of LEMIS a couple of weeks ago, Dr Azzopardi said, was a major change in that the information of over 130,000 files would be transferred to a database system, making it more easily accessible.

Considering that daily about 900 files, some of which are very old, are moved, the exercise is time consuming and allows for misplacement of files and papers. This investment of some €2.1 million – although the government would be paying some €1.9 million of this sum – will greatly facilitate matters.

It is not the first time an NGO or some similar organisation request a property, he said, and currently no system allows for this information to be available at the click of a button. This system will allow for less confusion, and more comfort and transparency.

Turning to enforcement action, Dr Azzopardi said there had been a record 424 of these last year. This saw an increase on the previous year, he said, which had already been double that of 2007.

The enforcement, he said, ranged from tackling the restaurant tables invading pavements to clearing the bastions. Praising the five enforcement officers as their job was not always very easy, Dr Azzopardi said these did a good job.

The last year also saw a record number of devolutions take place, he said, to scout groups, local councils and a number of NGOs. The handing over of the Lascaris War Rooms to Fondazzjoni Wirt Artna was the largest devolution ever to an NGO, he said.

In September 2009, some 60,000 square metres of land, lying between Gnejna and Fomm ir-Rih, was declared as public property. This asserted that beach shores should never be private property, but there for people to enjoy.

Some radical changes to the expropriation laws had taken place, granting more rights to the person whose land is confiscated. These changes would help to ensure a fair price. A system of calculating the just compensation for a historical site had also been worked out.

They had also started working towards seeing justice done by those who had purchased their land or house through the Home Ownership Scheme. The problem was that the original owners had not been paid and consequently the new owners were still living in a house on a promise of sale.

Effectively this meant that they were not owners of their own home, but simply had the right of use. Shortly it is hoped that all these cases will be identified, so the original owners can start being paid, within the financial limitations.

The reform of the Joint Office scheme by which emphyteusis is redeemed has continued, and has become increasingly efficient, he said. In the last year some 320 ground rents had been redeemed, which means these have all become owners of their own home.

Dr Azzopardi said he had just signed the first documents, which would set the ball rolling for some 148 families from Rabat to become owners of their own home. This would cost some €700,000, he said.

The first bilateral agreement with Dubai was also signed recently, which would result in an exchange of experience and information, which both sides stood to benefit from.

There had also been his official visit to Hong Kong last January, where he met with a number of officials and the first steps towards a double taxation agreement were taken. Hong Kong only has four such agreements, Dr Azzopardi said. This would mean more investment for Malta, and the creation of jobs.

His responsibilities had recently increased, he said, to include small enterprises, a crucial sector for Malta. Dr Azzopardi said he had had a number of meetings with the Chamber of Commerce and GRTU, adding that he was very willing to listen.

The freephone which had been set up to report cases of abuse on property, 1577, had also been successful, he said, since it had received over 1400 reports in the past year.

Speaking of the shops around City Gate, he said, that these would have to hand over the key by 26 March 2010, as on 1 April it would be closed due to works. A small number of shop owners have indicated that they are looking for financial compensation, rather than alternative premises.

Dr Azzopardi said he was optimistic an agreement which would be satisfactory for everyone involved, would be reached over the coming days.

Despite the tough year, Dr Azzopardi said, he felt he could look back with satisfaction, as it drew to a close. The recession had found a cautious and prepared government, which was aware of signals of the future and took responsible decisions, which made challenges into opportunities.

http://www.independent.com.mt/news.asp?newsitemid=102926