Friday, 10th July 2009 - 12:52CET

MEPA reform would make authority more efficient and consistent - PN

The MEPA offices in Floriana.

The MEPA reform announced by the Prime Minister yesterday would see the authority becoming more efficient and consistent while ensuring more accountability and enforcement, the Nationalist Party said.

The PN said that in a democratic country, a credible and consistent authority was needed to control building and the reform was based on consistency, efficiency, accountability and enforcement.

The measures announced were aimed at implementing the consistency principle, seeing that committees took decisions that were more in line with each other and with the MEPA board. A number of policies, were also to be clarified to reduce inconsistencies.

Measures promoting efficiency would see MEPA focusing on its main sectors and committees that took decisions and decided appeals would be full time. Applicants would also get replies within 12 weeks.

The reform also made a number of concrete proposals for more accountability and enforcement.

These included that planning and environmental policies would be drawn up within the Office of the Prime Minister while enforcement would be at the centre of a better environmental policy which respected rights.

The reform, the PN said, created a balance between development and environment protection.

It also implemented another party electoral promise.

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Comments

Steve Sant Fournier (on 10/7/09)

From my experience with problems that become too big to solve. START OVER again, see where the mistakes were made and start from fresh. It might look like a daunting task but I can assure you its much easier.

Adrian Borg Cardona (on 10/7/09)

We keep on hearing that MePA will be "accountable". I have tried to find out to whom the new boards will be accountable to but did not manage to find a reply. Will the PM withdraw permits that are not in line with policies? In the Bahrija case, the Board ignored 17 policies. Will the new Boards do the same? What will restrain them from not observing the policies? If a Board can get away with issuing a permit that contradicts so many policies, why not have a mechanism that will put a stop to this behaviour?

J Brownie (on 10/7/09)

If anything it has to become 'efficient' and ‘consistent’. I don't think that 'more' has any place here. But let's be positive and hope for the best -people will judge the reform by what it will manage to accomplish over time – hence please more deeds and less words
If we shall continue to see unscrupulous developers seize every piece of green patch and turn it into dull concrete, if we still see traditional villages being turned into hotch potch dwellings, if small field rooms shall continue to be turned into luxury farmhouses, complete with swimming pools, hidden behind tall boundary walls to ward off public attention, then the reform will not be worth the paper it was written on. Overall the good intention seems to be there but I prefer to hold my judgement for now, this time round

jcmicallef (on 10/7/09)

Too late.

The damage's done.

P.Cassar (on 10/7/09)

Mepa was born and bred under the PN. IF IT IS NOT EFFIECIENT AND INCONSISTENT this is clearly due to nationalist tbaswir and mismanegement.

mario gellel (on 10/7/09)

YET ANOTHER 50,000 PROMISES TO GO.