Sant opposes move of Mepa's audit office

Opposition Leader Alfred Sant disagrees with the Ombudsman's proposal to have the administration of the Malta Environment and Planning Authority's audit office annexed to that of his office.

Dr Sant's comments, made in a letter to the Ombudsman and released to the press, come a few days after the government accepted Joseph Said Pullicino's proposal, urging him to annex administratively Mepa's audit office and the University's Ombudsman to his own office as soon as possible.

The move is expected to resolve the tug-of-war that developed over the past months between the authority and the audit office over the contract renewal of investigating officer Carmel Cacopardo.

In principle, Dr Sant wrote, Labour agrees that offices such as the Children's Commissioner and autonomous bodies established by law and whose mission converges with that of the Ombudsman can share their administrative set up with that of the Ombudsman - as the latter himself had proposed - but not with regard to Mepa's audit office and other similar "complaints handling offices".

In the case of such offices as the Mepa audit office or the Police board, which are part of a department or public agency, the situation is different, Dr Sant said. These are internal audit mechanisms and not autonomous bodies in their own right.

People who have lodged a complaint with such internal audit mechanisms should have the opportunity to seek redress with the Ombudsman's office.

If the responsibility for the administration of the audit office is handed over to the Ombudsman, he continued, then Mepa's auditor would be effectively responsible towards the Ombudsman, and carrying out investigations on his behalf.

"The Ombudsman's proposal is a practical compromise so that work at Mepa's audit office can resume. However, once the relationship between Mepa and its audit office has reached such a miserable state I have my doubts as to whether the auditor will be able to carry out his duties without obstacle."