AG backed direct appointment of Mepa environment director

The Attorney General had backed the means chosen by the planning authority to fill the vacancy of its environment director, which was through a head-hunt, Parliamentary Secretary Mario de Marco said yesterday.

“We have a written legal opinion confirming what had been told to us by Mepa’s legal advisors, that that particular position could be considered a position of trust,” Dr de Marco said.

He pointed out that this meant the post could be filled by direct appointment instead of a public call for applications.

The person chosen to become director of the Environment Protection Department was Petra Bianchi, former director of heritage group Din l-Art Ħelwa. She was hand-picked by authority chairman Austin Walker.

The legal advice obtained by the Malta Environment and Planning Authority contrasts sharply with the conclusion drawn by Mepa’s Audit Officer Joe Falzon, who said the chairman’s appointment of Dr Bianchi did not follow the procedures established by law.

However, Dr de Marco, whose portfolio includes the planning authority, insisted yesterday that the government stood by the Attorney General’s conclusion and not that of the audit officer.

The issue was really a battle of legal opinions not a question of an irregularity, he told the newspaper yesterday.

As a position of trust, the post could do away with the general rule for employment within the public service that necessitates a public call, Dr de Marco said.

“So it’s not like appointing a manager, an officer, a clerk, or anything like that, where it (the requirement for a public call) is not contested.”

In a statement yesterday, Mepa amplified the point but hinged its argument on the appointment of Mr Falzon himself, saying it was “comforted by the precedent set in the very appointment of the audit officer himself”.

When Mr Falzon was appointed to the post, some six years ago, it was considered to be a position of special trust and no public call was made, it pointed out.

The authority said it had “no difficulty shouldering the responsibility for the appointment of Dr Bianchi as Environment Protection Director without issuing a public call, given that her position is considered to be one of special trust in line with the law and given that the chairman and the board acted in accordance with legal advice, which was confirmed and corroborated by the Attorney General.

“Likewise, Mepa has no problem shouldering the responsibility for the appointment of Mr Falzon as its audit officer without proceeding with a public call, given that his post is considered also to be one of special trust.”

The planning authority also said the Prime Minister gave his approval on February 23, following advice by the Attorney General that the appointment could be made without the need of a public call.

Given the approval by the Mepa board, the Employment and Training Corporation and the Prime Minister, which the authority detailed in its statement, a contract of service for a definite period was entered into with Dr Bianchi on February 24.

However, Labour Party spokesman for urban development Roderick Galdes was quick to point out yesterday that the appointment of environment director was never considered, till now, a political appointment.

In response, Dr de Marco said there was a big difference between a position of trust and a political appointment – a difference Mr Galdes did not seem to recognise. Dr Bianchi was appointed after the board ascertained that she had all the necessary capabilities to fill the post, he said.

In a press release yesterday, Mr Galdes said he had voted against the appointment of Dr Bianchi on February 4, when it was approved by the Mepa board with eight votes in favour and one against.

His vote did not reflect a vote of no confidence in the person but against the way in which the position was filled “in blatant violation of the law”.

Such decisions tarnished the planning authority’s transparency, he said.