Mepa this evening stuck to comments it issued last week when it criticised its audit officer over a report he issued on a permit granted for development at Qala ridge in Gozo.

Reacting to a statement by the Church's environment commission, Mepa said that while it respected the commission's opinion, the Auditor chose to ignore or omit a number of issues in his final report even though the Authority had given detailed explanation and planning reasons as to why the permit was issued at the reconsideration stage.

It said that at reconsideration stage, the drawings were amended and the ones approved showed that the development was to be all within the category 1 settlement zone, that Policy (GZ-RLST-1) was correctly interpreted by the DCC and that the proposed three storey development was in accordance with the ridge edge policy that governs such developments.

The Authority also questioned how the Auditor queried the validity of the photomontages presented by the applicant and seemed to favour those handed in by the objectors which were totally misleading and not based on the actual plans.

Mepa also noted a statement issued this afternoon by the Ombudsman and said that Judge Said Pullicino had reiterated the advice given to the Audit Officer by the Ombudsman in 2005 to suspend investigations and publications of his findings when planning cases are sub judice. A case in point was the Qala Development case, Mepa said.

The Ombudsman, it said, pointed out that the Audit Officer should not have published the report so as not to ‘potentially prejudice the outcome before the Appeals Board but also by the basic principle that every administrative body has the duty to respect judicial authorities and quasi judicial authorities, to avoid exerting undue influence to ensure that the final binding decision is taken serenely, fairly, free from external pressures and strictly according to laws and regulations.'

Mepa also noted the Ombudsman's comments that currently there is no institutional relationship between his Office and that of Mepa's Audit Officer.

It agreed that the function of the Audit Office should be migrated to the Ombudsman's Office and have a mandate under the Ombudsman Act.

"This measure will increase accountability and ensure that the rights and interests of all the different elements in society are safeguarded," the Authority said.