New chairman for Mepa

Austin Walker is expected to take the hot seat at the Malta Environment and Planning Authority as the Prime Minister seeks to implement his promise to reform the authority, The Sunday Times has learnt.

The government is likely to announce the appointment of 55-year-old Mr Walker as chairman in the coming days. The former chairman of the Malta Resources Authority will replace Andrew Calleja who stepped down last Friday.

Lawrence Gonzi decided to take Mepa under his wing in reaction to public disgruntlement over some of the decisions by the authority - which developed a reputation for issuing questionable permits and adopting a two weights and two measures approach.

Mr Walker, who met the Prime Minister at Auberge de Castille in the past few days, was given a brief to carry out the required changes based on four criteria - consistency, accountability, enforcement and efficiency.

One of the priorities will be to reduce delays, cut red tape and wipe out anomalies. While Mepa officials are to be given a strict code of conduct, the terms of reference are expected to underline the need for public consultation.

In an interview with The Sunday Times last month, Dr Gonzi said he believed that, as a rule, applications outside development zones should be turned down, albeit with a transparent mechanism which allows certain types of development, mostly agricultural in nature.

During a recent meeting with the Prime Minister, Mr Calleja, who has been at the helm for six years, suggested that Mepa's role should be strictly related to land-use planning and the environment.

In the meantime, Parliament is expected to start discussing amendments to the Planning Development Act in the coming days.

Mr Walker, who is also a director at Malta Shipyards, has been closely associated with the agriculture and farming community. A Certified Public Accountant and Auditor, he was appointed chairman of the Co-operatives board and was also chairman of the Agricultural Export Marketing Board between 1992 and 1996.

In February 2005, he was appointed chairman of the MRA, regulator for energy, water and mineral resources.