There are clear indications that some form of promise was made to directors of Café Premier prior to the last general election, Opposition Leader Simon Busuttil said this afternoon.
Describing the Café Premier bailout deal as a prime scandal, Dr Busuttil stressed that Prime Minister Joseph Muscat should shoulder political responsibility for directly involving himself in the bailout and for personally giving the go ahead for the government to pay €4.2 million to buy back property which it already owns.
Speaking on Newsdesk on Radio 101, Dr Busuttil said that taxpayers’ money should never be used in such a manner, and should be spent on improving health, education and transport services.
“Instead of addressing the bed shortage issue at Mater Dei, reducing fuel prices or building a new school – Dr Muscat chose to buy out the lease on Café Premier, a property the government already owns. May I remind listeners that court proceedings to recoup the lease were already in motion; however the government chose to withdraw the case,” Dr Busuttil said.
“Dr Muscat has claimed that he has already shouldered political responsibility because he let the auditor general carry out the investigation. Does he expect us to thank him for this? It was the opposition who asked for an inquiry. We need to induce the mentality of assuming political responsibility in this country," Dr Busuttil said.
Dr Busuttil noted that the Auditor’s General report proves that the Prime Minister was directly involved and states that “the Prime Minister indicated his willingness to meet, and that the matter was subsequently brought up for discussion in a meeting with the OPM’s advisor. Later, Dr Muscat proposed that the government put forward an offer of €3.9million for Café Premier lease and stated that the €3.9million was the government’s final offer, before this was extended to €4.2 million.”
In comments to the press earlier this week, Dr Muscat admitted to meeting Mario Camilleri, one of the lease holders of the Café Premier property twice before the election. Dr Busuttil said that Dr Muscat was evidently uncomfortable answering journalists’ questions. “Anyone who saw the footage could easily see that he was not comfortable in replying to questions about the scandal.”
“Can the public believe the Prime Minister now that he has admitted to having met Mr Camilleri before the election? Following 25 years in Opposition, was this the Labour Party’s priority once in government? To offer a bailout for Café Premier? There are clear indications that a deal was made prior to the election. Is it a coincidence that Café Premier closed down on Election Day?” Why weren’t public officers such as the public lands commissioner involved in the discussions? Dr Busuttil questioned. “The Café Premier deal smells of corruption, not coffee.”
Earlier today, Justice Minister Owen Bonnici described the deal as value for money. However, Dr Busuttil said that Dr Bonnici is only defending the government. “I am not surprised that the minister chose to take such a standpoint – it is, however, the opposite of what an independent entity – the auditor general's office said, and therefore I choose to believe the latter," said Dr Busuttil.