Mepa auditor's report finalised

The auditor of the Malta Environment and Planning Authority has concluded his investigation into the planning permit issued to Nationalist Party president Victor Scerri for the reconstruction of a farmhouse in Baħrija.

Mepa auditor Joe Falzon yesterday confirmed he formally passed on the final report to the authority's chairman Austin Walker after the latter had given his reaction to the draft document.

A Mepa spokesman said it was not up to the chairman to publish the report.

"We have followed normal procedure and the chairman will be forwarding the report to the Prime Minister as the person responsible for the authority. It is up to him to decide whether to publish the report or not," the spokesman said.

The news comes a day after Dr Scerri said he would not be held accountable for mistakes made by others in the granting of the controversial permit.

He denied any wrongdoing and said that, in view of public statements made last week by Mr Falzon that the authority failed to abide by its own policies when granting the permit, it was up to the Mepa chairman and the Prime Minister to decide what to do.

On Sunday, the Prime Minister placed the onus of the tenability of Dr Scerri's position in the PN on the lap of the party president himself.

However, Dr Scerri shot the ball back into Dr Gonzi's court in what is turning out to be a major political embarrassment for the Prime Minister, who took Mepa under his wing after the last election.

Dr Gonzi yesterday avoided saying directly whether he would be asking for the resignation of any Mepa official over the irregularities despite having declared in an interview with The Sunday Times in June that if investigations revealed that there was something irregular in the permit he would be the "first one to ask not just for the withdrawal of the permit but also for the resignation of the person concerned".

"The government's direction to Mepa is to apply the approved policies and requirements set at law. Mepa should take all the necessary measures and actions provided by law if one or more of its policies are found not to have been adhered to," a spokesman for the Office of the Prime Minister said.

The planning process in this case has dragged on for nine years and in 2008 Mepa granted another permit for an extension to the original plans.

Excavation works on the site started earlier this year but Dr Scerri stopped the project pending an investigation by the Mepa auditor and the police. It was Dr Scerri himself who had called for both investigations on the day that about 300 environmentalists protested on site against the development.

Dr Scerri has defended his actions saying he had done everything according to procedure and at no time did he pile any pressure on anybody.

ksansone@timesofmalta.com