Mepa audit officer asked to tackle conflicts of interest

Environment Minister George Pullicino said yesterday that he has written to the audit officer at the Malta Environment and Planning Authority (Mepa) asking him to address the issue of conflicts of interest by Mepa staff.

Mr Pullicino said the audit officer had been asked to address conflicts of interest which members of staff could have with people involved in the real estate sector, the way employees communicated with certain applicants and the transmission of information after members of staff left the authority and started working elsewhere.

Mr Pullicino, speaking during the parliamentary debate on the Mepa financial estimates, said that all those who spoke to him privately about ethical issues should do so openly and responsibly.

He felt the Mepa audit officer should address the possible conflict of interest of all Mepa members of staff and draw up a detailed code of ethics accordingly. Such issues included the conflict which some members of staff had with regard to their part-time work. And, independently of the fact that a Labour MP was a Mepa employee, should Mepa officials be involved in political activities?

Mr Pullicino said the government wanted to see Mepa becoming a leaner but more efficient authority. Over the past year, overtime had been reduced by 80 per cent at the Development Control Commission, by 90 per cent at the vetting office and by half at the plotting office.

At the same time, Mepa processed 2,828 development applications in 2003 and 3,042 so far this year. But it was not acceptable that the number of pending applications had gone up as it did. Contrary to what many people thought, the reports for 95 per cent of applications were drawn up within the stipulated time.

Reacting to opposition remarks, Mr Pullicino said the government did not wish to see "excessive zeal" in the way how terms of reference for environment impact assessments (EIAs) were drawn up. He said he knew of no instance where Mepa officials had pressured applicants to seek services from particular companies as part of the EIA processes, and those having such information should give it to the relevant authorities. He would protect no wrong doer.

Mr Pullicino said he also wished to see faster processing of development applications, particularly with regard to agricultural projects.

Indeed, the whole development application process was being examined through three audits which were looking into the process in general including the consultation phase, the quality of case officer reports, and the quality of development applications by architects. In the case of the second, the authority should fire officials who did not do their duty, or did not do it well.

Mr Pullicino said much progress had been made in the area of law enforcement, but much remained to be done. Some members of staff of the authority had been physically attacked while performing enforcement duties. Indeed, the government was considering using the army in law enforcement activities. Referring to remarks by Roderick Galdes (MLP) Mr Pullicino said internet access had been removed only in the case of those employees who did not need such access, as some used to end up playing computer games.

On the overturning of Mepa decisions on appeal, Mr Pullicino said this was not a recent phenomenon and such cases had not increased.

The minister pointed out, in reply to remarks by Joe Brincat (MLP) that a substantial amount spent on EU related travel was refunded by the EU.

Referring to other comments by Dr Brincat, Mr Pullicino said the government would consider any suggestions by the opposition on amendments to the law on the planning authority.

Mr Pullicino said the government wanted the drawing up of local plans to be concluded as quickly as possible, but he would not sign a local plan before going deeply into it.

He said he agreed with Dr Brincat that certain business activities in village cores should be retained. A standard had to be set, however, on the maximum permissible impact of such activities.

As for forward planning (a point raised by Nationalist MP Joe Falzon) Mr Pullicino said Mepa had prepared 16 topic papers indicating the type of development currently taking place in the country.

Mepa, he said, had worked to conclude the retail planning guideline, the guidelines on major accident hazards and the open storage areas policy. It was drawing up a master plan on small industrial parks.

While some accused Mepa of hindering job-creating activities, over the past two years Mepa approved permits for development on 19,000 square metres of industrial land, on 60,000 square metres for commercial shops and on 80,000 square metres for office space. This translated into 1,600 new jobs.

Referring to the remarks by Mr Galdes on the artificial reef at St Julian's, Mr Pullicino said the reef had been developed from funds given to Mepa from a contractor involved in activities in that area. Some of those funds were also used for on-land embellishment of the area.

He said that next year, Mepa would also allocate Lm100,000 for the restoration of Buskett, Lm80,000 for afforestation near the Red Tower at Mellieha and Lm29,000 for the development of a marine research centre at the former Deutche Welle site at Xrobb l-Ghagin.

Mr Pullicino also spoke at the opening of the debate, saying the merger of the former Planning Authority and the Environment Department had been a money saver, as it removed the need for the creation of an authority for the environment. Productivity and efficiency by both sectors had also improved.

He said the government's subvention to Mepa was rising to Lm2.9 million, Lm1 million more than two years ago, because it was important that the authority had the funds it needed to meet its challenges.

He however, wished to appeal to all Mepa employees to do their duty promptly and efficiently in the interest of the taxpayers, who were supporting the authority.

The estimates of the authority were approved after a division. Other speakers are being reported separately.