Mepa's targets

In his Talking Point Malta's Mepa Crucible (August 23), J.G. Vassallo refers to the interview with former Mepa planning officer Bjorn Bonello (August 21). From this interview, Mr Vassallo, as an armchair critic, draws a gloomy picture of the organisation, or at least of that part of the organisation devoted to development control, seeing a set-up that lacks the necessary support and a general malaise in human resources.

Mr Bonello's interview, it must be recognised, sets out a very personal and a very partial view, but, on the whole, one which contains much that is positive and supportive of the planning system and of Mepa and its objectives, although Mr Vassallo focuses largely on the negative aspects. However, it does tend, perhaps unsurprisingly, to miss the broader picture and fails to recognise the extent of cultural change; the nature of ongoing structural and organisational change and the investment in human resources that has taken place within the organisation over the past years.

Much time and money has been spent on training and education, and, as Mr Bonello acknowledges, he is one of the many to benefit from the structured programmes that have provided opportunities for staff to obtain numerous planning and other qualifications, both locally and at foreign institutions, and to gain experience of working in different planning "environments". The objective of all this investment has been to improve individuals' expertise and capabilities and to provide the authority with a much broader professional base. The fruits of this can be seen most recently with over 25 employees finalising graduate studies in planning, last year, financed by Mepa.

There has been much change in the structure of the organisation over the years with reform aimed at increasing efficiency and improving working practices. As is noted in the interview, change is underway at present, reorganising the development control function into "cells" of officers dealing with all aspects of the application process and integrating the enforcement function within this structure. Greater integration will improve the link between the processing and determination of applications and the enforcement of the resulting decision, with greater co-ordination in the monitoring of ongoing development. The direct overseeing of enforcement by the senior officers responsible for the cells and strategies for a more effective setting of priorities for monitoring and for enforcement action are also being devised and implemented.

In carrying out these reforms the emphasis has not, as the interview suggests, been on "the management positions" and the creation of "small empires", although from one perspective this may appear to be the case, but rather on seeking that structure which best facilitates the efficient and effective carrying out of the authority's function.

Great attention has been paid to ensuring that case officers are supported both by other functions, enabling them to devote their time to dealing with the case load, and by more senior officers to offer advice and direction. Similarly, the need for additional human resources has been acknowledged with the engagement of more planning officers and enforcement officers, although the authority's ability to respond swiftly to meet resource requirements through external recruitment has been hampered somewhat by a general shortage of professional resources in the "marketplace" and a lengthy lead in time for placement.

Similarly on the environment side, new recruitment of professional resources is underway and the authority will also be financing costs for a diploma course in environmental science and a Masters degree in integrated resource management being run by the International Environment Institute run jointly by the University of Malta and the Foundation for International Studies as from next October.

The authority today deals with a wide range of topical matter ranging from spatial planning to environment protection. Both areas of responsibility have wide ranging implications for society at large and the public sector. There are various demands on the system that tries to balance very diverging views on how development issues should be tackled. It's no wonder that it remains at the centre of public attention given that it discharges its responsibilities in a manner open to public scrutiny.

The overall scope of the changes being undertaken within the organisation is to address any shortcomings in service provided by Mepa to its clients and these are also based upon the recommendations made by the Management Efficiency Unit. The organisation's targets are clear: Continuous improvement in the delivery of service that Mepa provides to its individual clients and to the community in general.

Dr Cassar is Director General, Mepa.