On Monday, the National Audit Office published its report titled “The Government’s rescission of restrictions on the site of the Fortina Hotel.” What was supposed to be an exercise in accountability and institutional seriousness turned out to be a document full of assumptions, insinuations, and unfounded conclusions.
This is not a serious report. This is a reckless report – written with the clear intention of damaging a private enterprise that invested in our country and the Government that took its decisions in full accordance with the law.
And why reckless? Because in several parts, the report makes a series of assumptions about what might have been done by a former judge – a man who has since passed away and therefore cannot defend himself or explain what really happened. To point fingers at the dead in order to substantiate an official report is not only unethical, it is a disgrace to the very institution that is supposed to safeguard administrative justice.
The facts remain crystal clear: the procedure for this contract was carried out in full compliance with the law on Government land. The evaluation of the changes in conditions was conducted by three independent architects, none of whom formed part of the Lands Authority, and the entire process was scrutinized by the Board of Governors of that same Authority. That is the legal and administrative truth which the NAO report sought to obscure.
What has emerged is undeniable: we are seeing an Auditor General crossing the line and using a national institution as a tool to push a narrative against investment, against jobs, and against the democratically elected Government.
With this report, the NAO has not strengthened trust in our processes – it has undermined it. It has caused direct damage to our economy and to entrepreneurs who are the driving force of the country.
The truth is simple: this was a political attack, not a serious audit.
