EXCLUSIVE: Chris Engerer awarded 15-year title of lease on his Sliema beach tenement by the Nationalist government while it was persecuting him

Published: May 13, 2014 at 12:13pm
Left to right: Chris Engerer, Mariuccia Engerer, Cyrus Engerer and his boyfriend, Labour Party aide Randolph Debattista

Left to right: Chris Engerer, Mariuccia Engerer, Cyrus Engerer and his boyfriend, Labour party aide Randolph Debattista

Persecution victim Chris Engerer was awarded a 15-year title of lease by the Nationalist government on the beach tenement he operates near the Exiles Water Polo club beneath the Sliema watch-tower.

The title took effect as from 1 March 2012.

I enquired about the matter after receiving information that last August he applied to extend the bar and that the application is still pending.

The planning application details were published on this site (link below).

Chris Engerer has run that beach bar for decades, but I was under the impression that he sub-let it from the Civil Service Sports Club, which in turn held the title from the government (because it’s a beach it cannot be privately owned).

Because it seemed odd that he has applied to develop a beach tenement to which he does not hold the actual title of lease, I made enquiries as to whether he had recently obtained the title under the Taghna Lkoll government.

Ironically, my sources tell me that he obtained the title of lease from the government’s Lands Department in early 2012, with the title taking effect from 1 March that year.

This is when he was being persecuted by the Nationalist government, which had begun its persecution the previous July, with a search and arrest, followed by prosecution, carried out on the initiative of the head of the Drug Squad, diehard Labour voter Neil Harrison, who is married to Labour Party billboard star Audrey Harrison.

If persecution involves being awarded titles of lease to beach-bars in Sliema’s most popular spot, then will somebody please persecute me now.

The Nationalist government awarded Cyrus Engerer’s father that title of lease AFTER Cyrus Engerer left the Nationalist Party, joined the Labour Party and had already begun a process of working to damage his former political colleagues, and AFTER Chris Engerer had been searched and arrested on drug-related issues.

And here I must add a qualifier: I think it was really awful of Cyrus Engerer to drag his father into his mess and for the prime minister to do likewise in the most public way possible.

By claiming that he was persecuted because of his son, they have dragged him into the public domain and opened him up to scrutiny and discussion.




16 Comments Comment

  1. edgar says:

    One of the many reasons why the PN lost the elections with 36000 votes. Going out of their way to help people who kick you in the ass and not helping people with genuine cases.

    • Galian says:

      Governments are not (should not be) there to “help people”. I don’t want individual help from my government, I want my government to provide me with a country where I can pursue opportunities, work to the best of my ability and fulfill my dreams.

      • Niki B says:

        The problem with this country is that the majority want precisely the opposite, i.e. a government that is “theirs” so that the can get what they like whether they are entitled to it or not.

        The PN has tried to move people away from this mentality and the result was a massive number of switchers who went to Labour because they promised to give them what they wanted.

      • George says:

        Well said. But unfortunately it appears that the majority of the electorate, mostly red, but also numerous of blues have differing ideas.

    • carlos says:

      That’s right, Edgar. And in the meantime they abandoned their own supporters. But they never learn.

  2. PWG says:

    Ahna too good. As it should be, really.

  3. tbg says:

    This goes to show that the Nationalist government operated as all governments should operate; it did not intervene neither with the Lands Department decisions nor with the Police.

    Last year’s election results was a big thank you to the Nationalist party for trying to be a fair government to all.

    Most of the Maltese people are too ignorant and provincial to realise this. They don’t care for a healthy economy, the rule of law, a good international standing. It’s all about grab grab grab.

    They don’t care that by getting undeserved jobs and other favours they are doing a disservice to others who are more deserving. X’jimpurtahom. I’m all right so f**k you Jack.

    • Calculator says:

      Personally, I’ve always thoughts that most switchers, especially those on billboards, were not really interesting in removing any alleged nepotism and favouritism. They just wanted a kind of nepotism and favouritism that could lead their profit, even if at the obvious expense of others.

  4. wacko says:

    In the meantime, JPO is asking us to condone Cyrus – https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10152379123845102&set=a.10150130162590102.290006.837090101

    He also mentions that his former boyfriend forgave him, therefore Cyrus should be left free…

    Does he know that Ali Agca was forgiven by Pope John Paul II, but is still in prison? His forgiveness didn’t mean Ali could run away freely, and getting into Taghna LoL high positions.

  5. AE says:

    Doesn’t the Lands Department do any diligence when considering a tenant and was this lease open to the public?

  6. edgar says:

    I certainly do not agree that the government is there to ”help” people. I was just stating what the majority of people out there expect.

    • carlos says:

      Edgar but it does not go down nicely seeing opposing people being served and you remain just left yawning. The result of so much switchers clearly indicated this.

  7. AE says:

    Actually wasn’t it Chris Engerer himself who dragged himself into this whole spectacle by alleging that he was being targeted because of Cyrus ‘leaving’ the Nationalist Party?

    It sounds like this is one man who has gotten away with a lot for a long time.

    Someone like him should not be left to roam our streets and should have been locked up long ago. Instead he has been left to ply his trade amongst youngsters and not so young for decades.

  8. Pacikk says:

    Mhux hekk! If his offence was done by a simple government employee, then he would surely he/she have been kicked out / demoted etc. But no, Cyrus gets to keep his consultancy work, and under the PN government, his dad got a 15 year tenement lease.

    This guy’s second name must be ‘Lucky’.

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