Labour calls for Mepa reform progress

The labour spokesman for Mepa, Roderick Galdes has called for the promised reform of the authority to be taken on with urgency by the government.

He said the Prime Minister needed to take effective and drastic action to bring about greater accountability and transparency in the way Mepa operated, especially in view of a whole series of allegations of abuse and corruption which had blemished the authority's reputation.

Mr Galdes in a statement welcomed the proposals by the Today Group entitled The Environmental Deficit: The Reform of Mepa and other Regulatory Bodies and said they should be given due consideration by the Prime Minister, who has assumed ministerial responsibility for Mepa.

Mr Galdes said the government needed to evaluate how development planning and environmental protection were operating under one roof at Mepa.

The Environment Protection Department was seriously lacking financial and human resources and it still had to keep up with the enforcement of local and EU law, a situation which was not sustainable.

The MLP held that both functions should have equal importance and there should be greater coordination between the two, Mr Galdes said.

The role of the Malta Resources Authority also needed to be evaluated so that it could become more effective.

Mr Galdes said that apart from Mepa reform, the government also needed to implement the National Strategy for Sustainable Development.