Stephen Galea, the man at the centre of the controversy surrounding the withdrawal of an ODZ development permit in Siġġiewi, was today granted a permit for a winery in an ODZ area of Bidnija.
The winery is linked to the controversial allocation of €150,000 in EU agricultural funds four days before the 2013 general election, The Sunday Times revealed last July. The reports by this newspaper had led to him having to return the funds.
Mr Galea is also at the centre of controversy after a permit for an ODZ development in Siġġiewi for the daughter of Albert (known as Bertu) Pace, who is a consultant to Agriculture Parliamentary Secretary Roderick Galdes.
The permit was granted on the basis of a forged letter in his name as representing the Agriculture Department, The Sunday Times of Malta revealed last week.
Doubts on the validity of the document were flagged by this newspaper last December, revealing that Mr Galea was listed as “a labourer”, a position he still held when the permit was issued. There is no official record confirming he had ever been employed as a vet support officer.
When contacted yesterday, Mr Galea said that as a government employee, he was not permitted to speak to the media. “There are instructions from the director general that all government employees are not allowed to talk to the press,” he said.
The director general was the focus of the findings in an investigation that concluded he had worked with Mr Pace to get Mr Galea to sign the letter that led to the permit, The Sunday Times of Malta revealed last weekend. The parliamentary secretary is still refusing to publish the report.
Under the Public Service Management Code, public officials are allowed to engage in public comment in a personal capacity. Any instructions saying the contrary go against this condition.
Mr Galea has been trying to acquire a permit for his Bidnija winery since 2002 but has met strong opposition.
The most recent appeal hearings were postponed, because the tribunal allowed Mr Galea to consider whether he wanted to proceed or have the case considered under the new ODZ policy introduced by this administration, which makes provisions for wineries in the countryside. Yet the new rules require that any proposed wineries should be located on established vineyard holdings, while Mr Galea’s fields are not vineyards at present.