Labour to file motion to repeal new Mepa tariffs

The Labour Party will be filing a motion in Parliament this week to repeal the legal notice that brought into effect new fees for building applications.

The tariffs are having an effect not only on land developers but on every person who needs a permit or service from the planning authority, according to Opposition Leader Joseph Muscat, who was yesterday addressing activists at a political meeting.

The fees were raised in July with the planning authority charging developers by the square metre instead of the standard fixed fees that were set 17 years ago. The revenue will net an extra €7 million annually which the planning authority, had so far, received in government subsidies.

“The Labour Party doesn’t agree with these exaggerated tariffs and will file a motion in Parliament, requesting it to drop the legal notice,” Dr Muscat said.

He listed a few examples of how the fees had gone up: applications for garages used to cost €560 but had gone up to €1,100; a permit to demolish rose from €116 to €2,125 and a change-of-use permit, from residential to business, increased fourfold from €250 to €1,000.

Turning to utility bills handler ARMS, Dr Muscat said the company could not issue unsigned letters threatening legal action even if consumers had no outstanding payments to settle.

“I am certain that this letter had to be signed. It came with a €12 administrative charge and threatened to freeze the assets of the consumer,” he said.

Two weeks have already gone by since the Labour Party filed a motion in Parliament requesting the Auditor General to investigate the inefficiencies at ARMS and the €70 million contract issued for the smart meters.

Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi did not say when the motion would be discussed, he said.

Meanwhile, Dr Gonzi replied to Dr Muscat’s comments about the planning authority tariffs during a Nationalist political meeting at Balzan.

Dr Muscat simply wanted the government to take a step backwards and spend €7 million in subsidies. “My conscience does not allow me to do so,” Dr Gonzi said.

Instead of subsidising permits to build using people’s taxes, the government decided to invest in other things such as an oncology centre, Dr Gonzi said.

Later, in a statement, the government pointed out that the tariffs had been revised after 17 years and had not changed since the planning authority was set up in 1993.

Dr Muscat wanted people who were not involved in any form of development to subsidise developers, it said.

In 1996, a Labour government said the planning authority did not need any financial support from the government. “The Labour govern­ment did not raise the tariffs because an early election was called.”

The tariffs were revised so that the authority would not be financed by people’s taxes but the application fees and services linked to it would be paid for by the applicant, the government said.