In his Talking Point (July 23) entitled Planning Policies For The Future, Tourism Parliamentary Secretary Mario de Marco wrote that "the government needs to have the necessary resources to be the driving force in policy formulation process". There is no doubt that this is a requirement that is fundamental to good governance. Linking it, however, only to the Mepa reform process severely limits the potentially beneficial and far-reaching remit of a strategic government policy unit incorporating national economic and social considerations.
That the government should have the necessary resources to be the driving force in the policy formulation process should be a sine qua non, not only in the formulation of policies that affect Mepa and its operations but this driving force should also be concerned with the overall policies that affect other sectors of the country, of the economy, of sustainable development, of tourism, of agriculture, of traffic management etc.
As Dr de Marco wrote in his article "land use in Malta is a factor that impacts on all areas of policy, be it related to the environment, tourism, industry, agriculture, housing, health, education or transport". The buck, however, does not stop with land use and with Mepa. There needs to be an approach towards an integrated resource management scenario and this is what the Policy Unit at the Office of the Prime Minister should be concerned with. There is the need to elevate the proposed Policy Unit to a higher level - a national strategic policy unit - and not place it at the same level at that existing with the current Mepa structure.
In Dr de Marco's own words "what is being proposed therefore is not the shifting of a function from Mepa to the government. It is ensuring that each side is in the best position to carry out its role in our system of governance". Since Mepa enjoys a position whereby it can feel the pulse of development in real time, it should retain a policy development remit and unit. This Mepa unit could develop policies for forwarding to the national strategic unit for approval and implementation. It should also provide feedback through the Mepa board to the national strategic policy unit on the outcome of planning policy implementation.
Dismantling the Mepa policy development function altogether, which does not seem to be the case, although, as yet not clearly and emphatically stated, would detach the knowledge-base from policy development with results we would not like to imagine.
The government should be concerned with the enactment of the overall policy and direction for the economic and further sustainable development of the country and bringing together the many players that can contribute to the formulation of this policy that is the various ministries, leaving the actual implementation of such policies to the various authorities and other government entities. Land use planning is the professionals' remit and not the politicians.
The government's role in policy formulation is to state that, for example, there is a need for more hotels, for more housing of a certain standard and at an affordable price, for a golf course, for extending the airport or the air terminal, for increasing cruise liner facilities, etc. as the case may be and based on studies commissioned to determine such strategy. It is the government's remit to formulate guidelines and policies for each of these requirements. It should then be the planners at Mepa who would indicate where such developments could take place, whether to increase heights of buildings, indicate changes to local plans, etc. Such recommendations would still need to be endorsed by the minister responsible.
Similarly, if one had to take another example linked to traffic, the Policy Unit at OPM would formulate a policy on traffic management for the whole island in conjunction and in collaboration with the various ministries, including obviously Mepa and the Transport Authority (ADT). This policy would then have to be translated by Mepa and ADT into a proper and feasible proposal for implementation.
This is what I understand Dr de Marco to mean when he wrote that "by strengthening the policy unit, the government will, on the other hand, be in a better position to ensure the consistency of planning policy with all other areas of government policy". This is the core of the matter and this needs to be clearly spelt out.
Finally, it has to be said that, regardless of where policy is formulated, there is an over-riding critical issue that needs to be stressed and that is the focus upon quality. We sorely need policy that provides the means for better quality development leading to a better quality of life for our citizens.
The author is president of the Chamber of Architects.