A planning authority officer, described by Parliamentary Secretary Michael Farrugia as his “point of reference”, has been making decisions and issuing orders to staff, according to insiders.

The insiders say the officer, Johann Buttigieg, was earmarked as the Malta Environment and Planning Authority’s next CEO.

Dr Farrugia confirmed last night that Mr Buttigieg was his “point of reference” at Mepa. He was instructing Mr Buttigieg on what needed to be done there.

“He is helping out with giving Mepa a certain direction,” Dr Farrugia said.

Asked how Mr Buttigieg had been chosen and why, Dr Farrugia said he was a person he could trust and provided him with precise information on what was going on.

He denied that Mr Buttigieg was “the anointed one”, poised to take on the role of CEO, adding that he was one of 560 Mepa employees who could apply for the job when the internal call for the post was eventually made.

Dr Farrugia said a selection board would be set up. Although the members had not been chosen yet, he said he would prefer if it was made up of people from both within and outside Mepa.

Sources at Mepa said that Mr Buttigieg, who could not be reached for comment, has been “ordering people around” in recent weeks.

He is said to have been one of the reasons why incumbent CEO Ian Stafrace tendered his resign-ation earlier this week.

Contacted yesterday, Dr Stafrace declined to elaborate on why he had resigned from the authority a year before his three-year contract expired.

Dr Stafrace was appointed to his post two years ago after having previously served as Mepa’s legal adviser for 10 years, helping with the drafting of legal texts and transposing EU legislation into Maltese law. He received an annual salary of €70,000.

Dr Stafrace’s resignation came days after the Mepa board was appointed and after former chairman Austin Walker was replaced by architect Vince Cassar.

This was followed by the resign-ation of Mepa’s Environmental Protection Director Petra Caruana Dingli. Dr Farrugia said yesterday he had asked Dr Caruana Dingli to reconsider her resignation as it had not been accepted by the Government.

Dr Caruana Dingli, former executive president of Din l-Art Ħelwa, was appointed in February 2011. Then-Mepa audit officer Joe Falzon had declared her direct appointment as irregular and the Labour Party had called on the Government to shoulder its responsibilities.

The sources said Mr Buttigieg had been calling the shots at the authority in recent weeks, instructing staff what to do and even moving people from their offices. These included two of Dr Stafrace’s staff, whom he had ordered out.

The sources said this irked Mepa employees, especially those who were technically his super-iors, and who felt humiliated by his actions.

Mr Buttigieg joined the authority as an enforcement officer and later became a planning officer. After he attended an internal course, he became senior planning officer and was assigned to major projects.

Allegations of political interference at Mepa were made in Parliament last week when former Resources Minister George Pullicino accused Dr Farrugia of stopping the Mepa board from discussing the Għallis waste treatment plant application.

Dr Farrugia justified his action saying he had only told the board to hold its horses until the new Government reviewed the plans.

mxuereb@timesofmalta.com