PN disagrees with government’s proposed changes regarding evictions from public land
The PN disagrees with certain powers regarding eviction that will be given to the Lands Authority through a bill being discussed in Parliament.
The new Government Land Bill which was being discussed in Parliament yesterday evening will make it easier for the government to evict squatters, Parliamentary Secretary for Lands Deborah Schembri said.
“The Act will regulate the administration of Government land; regulate land acquisition for public purposes; aims to establish a procedure that shall be followed related to this acquisition; will provide for eviction from lands and properties which are either administered or held by the Government under any title and to regulate the grant of title to any immovable property of the Government or that which is administered by such Government; and to provide for matters connected there with and ancillary thereto.”
Parliamentary Secretary Deborah Schembri mentioned that there were cases where people take over government land as squatters, “as though it is their right to keep the land when they would not even have a title to it. It would not always be easy to get these people off the land. As such, the law is being revised, and we will slightly rush the process of eviction where one does not have a title, or when their title expires.”
The law also grants the right to an individual to contest an eviction order before a tribunal, and the tribunal must take a decision within six months, Dr Schembri explained. People will also have the right to appeal before the courts, and they must also take a decision within six months, she said.
Once evicted, if the squatter does not remove their own items, the Lands Authority will not be responsible for the items.
When it comes to expropriation, she said, this Act will result in valuation of land being taken to be the amount which the land, if sold on the open market would be.
PN MP Ryan Callus supported the idea of these different laws being consolidated into a single law, but criticised part of the changes made regarding evictions.
He said that the PN were only given a week to read the Bill. “This is not the way things are done. We are speaking about how government land can be given to the private sector; on a very important issue. It is not out of friendship that we were only given a week to see this.”
“We saw the bill, consulted,” he said, adding that there are certain clauses which are worrisome.
“We didn’t accept to have a representative on the board of governors as the government wants us to be in bed with them, so we won’t be able to criticise their issues. We submitted our own proposals on how the board should be independent. What would be wrong with the lawyers being appointed by the Chamber of Advocates rather than the Minister, or the Accountant by the Institute of Accountants rather than the minister?”
“If there is a repeat of the scandals like Café Premier we will be at the forefront fighting against them.”
One major change in the bill, he said, regards where one can be evicted. “When we are dealing with a person holding land through a title of emphyteusis, so far, that person has to be taken to court to be evicted. Till now, any- one who breaks the emphyteusis contract would need to be taken to court, and it would be up to the court to decide, and not the politically appointed chairperson as the Authority head. That person, today or tomorrow, might have ulterior motives.”
“This procedure is only changing for government land. So we are creating two worlds, one for those who have an emphyteusis for government land, and another for those people who hold such a contract for private land. For private land, court procedures would need to be opened, yet for public land, the chairperson can simply issue an eviction notice and you would end up outside.”
“Now it would be the everyday citizen who would have to open up a case to defend their rights,” he said, adding that this authority will now be prosecutor, judge and jury.