Db group project: minister learned of private jet jaunt ‘from Newsbook’

Planning Minister Ian Borg told Parliament this week that he only found out a Planning Authority board member had been flown in to vote on the controversial Db Group development in St George’s Bay from online news portal Newsbook. Board member Jacqueline Gili was flown to and from Malta on a private jet last September so that she should be present for a vote on the project. The Ombudsman’s office last week said the decision amounted to “unwarranted influence” on Ms Gili. The investigation came after a complaint by former Alternattiva Demokratika chairman Arnold Cassola, who asked the Ombudsman to examine whether the decision was a case of maladministration and whether it was discriminatory towards applications and objectors in other cases when no such measures were taken. “Neither the Authority or even more the executive should intervene so that members of the PA Board are present for meetings,” the Environment Commissioner said. Answering a series of questions in Parliament this week, Dr Borg reiterated that his ministry had no say in the decision taken by the “independent and autonomous authority”. Shortly after the incident, the authority head, Johann Buttigieg, had told the...