When rules go out the window

There were fears before the election that Labour would not treat the environment with nearly as much respect as the outgoing government did in the past few years (which were preceded by rampant development). The evolving situation at the Malta Environment and Planning Authority seems to be bearing them out.

After slashing planning fees by a quarter, it has emerged that the Labour Government is proposing to allow developers to pay these fees in two instalments as well as fast-tracking (which could be a euphemism for steamrolling) the processing of certain permits.

The proposals are still just that, and are not, according to parliamentary secretary Michael Farrugia, set in stone. However, they do raise cause for concern. In a statement last week, five environmental NGOs warned that the Government would be bypassing an important consultation stage, which risked opening the floodgates to abuse.

Pandering to developers is no doubt very tempting for parties in power, especially if they have received donations during their electoral campaigns. However, it is important to remember just how and why planning policy took a welcome turn in recent years.

During the 2008 election campaign, Lawrence Gonzi had recognised that his party upset a growing sector of Maltese society concerned that the island was being ruined by unchecked development. He therefore pledged to take Mepa under his wing and ensure that the authority lived up to the first part of its name.

By and large, this proved to be a success, even though developers did not like it. As has been pointed out on several occasions, Malta has been constructing many new dwellings when it has some 70,000 vacant properties. This does not make sense on an island where space is at a premium. Yet there is a risk that we are about to return to this practice.

There is a worry too that politicians will be more involved – officially at least – than ever before in the Mepa decision-making process after Dr Farrugia admitted to The Times that a planning authority officer, who has been giving orders to more senior members of staff, is his “point of reference”. His comments bring back echoes of the bad old days.

This has caused considerable disquiet within the authority and prompted the resignation of CEO Ian Stafrace last week.

It is also symptomatic of the improper approach Labour has taken to various appointments. Mario Vella has been giving orders at Malta Enterprise before being appointed to head it, and now this planning officer has – despite denials – apparently been anointed to effectively head Mepa.

Nothing wrong with that, some might say. Not in substance perhaps – since the Government has every right to make appointments even if they fly in the face of Labour’s already discredited electoral slogan – but this Administration certainly lacks form.

The latter could not have been better exemplified by the Prime Minister’s decision to grant a waiver to parliamentary secretary Franco Mercieca, who has been permitted to carry on with surgical practice (in certain instances, against payment to boot).

Not only does the waiver breach the Code of Ethics, which is already bad enough. But worse, it displays an attitude on behalf of this Government that it does not believe it needs to abide by rules; that the Prime Minister is, as Lawrence Gonzi describes him in our interview today, some kind of emperor figure.

Trouble is, if the Government does not abide by the rules (as opposed to changing them by going through the proper channels), how can it expect the people who elected it to do so? Or perhaps it doesn’t.