Mepa professionals query benefit of political appointees on main board

The independence and decision-making competence of politically-appointed representatives on the planning authority board should be looked into.

In a reform proposal report, the planning authority's professionals' union queried the advantages of having political representatives sitting on the board of the Malta Environment and Planning Authority.

The number of board members should be reduced from the present 15 to not more than seven in order to increase efficiency, accountability and remove any conflict of interest, the report said.

One full-time development control commission board should be introduced to replace the existing three part-time boards.

The union also called for an amalgamation of the development planning and the environment protection laws in order to reduce any possible overlapping of roles and responsibilities.

The public's perception that the planning authority was not safeguarding the environment was correct, the report said. It described the development in rural areas as sporadic, which eroded the environment.

The planning directorate had to become aware of Malta's environmental obligations which, in turn, would lead to a more coordinated approach and decisions.

The planning authority required human and financial resources to act but "above all, there is no leadership in making sure that the whole setup is functioning effectively".

The union called for the CEO or director general to be given legislative powers over all directorates. "It is felt that each director is adopting a different approach to other directors notwithstanding the indirect effect on the whole organisation."

However, the change had to start from the top and work downwards, the report said.

Development applications were not submitted according to approved policies and design and the union called on the reform to address this lack of professionalism, especially since the applications were filed by architects.

While admitting that NGOs were an important asset in the decision-making process, the report noted that it was important for them to declare what and whose interest they were representing.

The report also called for the long-promised impact assessments consultants' register in order to bring about more transparency and accountability. Consultants sometimes drew up impact reports that "gloss over" the possible damages of a development application. The report suggested using a government intermediary to ensure that consultants were paid while monitoring the fees.

Mepa's audit officer should be powered to scrutinise all stakeholders in a case under investigation, the report said.

The union also suggested setting up an aesthetics board, in collaboration with the Chamber of Architects, to make sure that all building applications were certified.

The criteria for major projects had to be substantially overhauled with higher threshold levels only for projects of national importance, it was suggested.

In order to discourage any form of speculation, major projects should not be submitted as outline applications and only those acceptable in principle should be allowed.