Government Response to GBC questions on El Martillo funding falls short.

The GSD note the answer given by the Government in response to today’s GBC report on El Martillo Group
that: “No Government owned, affiliated or controlled company has lent any money to El Martillo Limited or any affiliated company.”

The Government has however not replied to a follow up question by GBC as to any funding sourced from the Gibraltar Savings Bank. The Government has said in answer to GSD questions in Parliament Q253/2026 that at 31 March 26, £114 million has been provided by the Savings Bank via its subsidiary, the Gibraltar National Mint Limited, to a company by the name of Community Credit Union Limited (“CCU”) which in turn has loaned monies to various private sector companies. The Government has declined to disclose the names of those entities but confirmed that the funding decisions by the Savings Bank are taken against a criteria decided solely by Sir Joe Bossano.

While the Government has not stated whether companies in El Martillo Group (the entities the focus of the GBC report) have received such monies it is clear from Company House searches that a number of companies in that group have charges registered against them in favour of CCU. It is in the public interest that if the Govt will not provide answers, then either CCU or El Martillo Group should consider making a voluntary disclosure of any loan amounts, rates and terms.

In the absence of this, there is a clear question that remains unanswered: has any of the £114 million provided through the Savings Bank to CCU ultimately been loaned to companies within the El Martillo Group, and if so how much?

The Gibraltar public is entitled to this information.

GSLP wants to hoodwink the electorate for electoral purposes

It is staggering that the GSLP continue to erect red herrings in a bid to distract from their broken promises on housing.

On the building of affordable or rental housing it is clear that their much repeated projects have been delayed (some for over a decade) or not done at all. It is very clear that they are now, for nothing other than obvious electoral purposes seeking to hoodwink a sizeable sector of the electorate – individuals who are desperate to purchase their own homes on an affordable basis – into believing that an extra 2,300 flats will, like magic, be made available to them.

Damon Bossino said: “Let us make no mistake. The Government has breached its promise as to timelines already on this new scheme as the land should have been reclaimed and building started by now.

The Government has little credibility on housing given their repeated electoral commitments in successive general elections in 2011, 2019 and 2023 that they would build rental housing. They have failed to deliver on each and every occasion. It is an absolutely undeniable fact that the last rental estate was built by the GSD.”

Keith Azopardi, the Leader of the Opposition said: “The GSD will not fall into the usual trap of GSLP diversionary tactics, but it cannot allow them to manipulate the narrative on the basis of incorrect numbers. For there to be an honest analysis, the proper comparative figures for low cost housing are therefore approximately 1300 under the GSD as against (according to them) 1,742 under the four last GSLP administrations. Also, in so far as sales of post war flats to sitting tenants the parliamentary record shows that sales were happening as recently as a few years ago. It is hard to believe sales in 2020 were still commitments of a previous administration.”

The fact is that the Government simply cannot be believed but they continue to confuse and attempt to lull people into thinking that by some waving of a magic wand their most recent announcement on the 2,300 flats will, on this occasion, somehow become reality.

Department of Immigration and Home Affairs repeated closure an embarrassment

The GSD notes with alarm that the Department of Immigration and Home Affairs once again had to interrupt its services to the public for a day, due to flooding.

It will be recalled that the same thing happened in May this year & at the time the GSD justifiably questioned how the operation of an important Government Department which interacts on a daily basis with the public to deal with the registration of births, deaths, residency, marriages etc., could have been closed for a whole day on a second occasion in this way.

In its reaction at the time, the Govt glibly responded to concerns raised by the GSD, suggesting that it all boiled down to a burst pipe and ignored the point about the value for money concerns which arise.

Damon Bossino said: “It is ironic & an embarrassment for the Government that it should move one of its departments from a non-rent paying Government property to a privately owned building – at an annual cost of £214,680 until 17 April 2032 – on the grounds that the new premises would be of better quality and would not be suffering from water ingress issues to
then be afflicted by the same problem.”

It is also incredible that the property which housed the Department of Immigration and Home Affairs will now be refurbished for the purpose of the Mental Health Hub. It seems that what was unacceptable for the Immigration Department is fine for the Mental Health Hub.

There are another three Government departments in that same building at a total annual cost of approx £430,000. This recent episode raises the further question whether similar issues are also impacting these other departments.