Parliamentary Secretary Michael Farrugia. Photo: Jason Borg

Bureaucracy and red tape left space for corruption so lengthy processes would be shortened in a bid to reduce it, Parliamentary Secretary Michael Farrugia pledged yesterday.

Speaking at another of the public consultation meetings with Cabinet members dubbed A Government That Listens, he said from this year the performance bonuses of senior government officials would be tied to their ability to cut bureaucracy within their departments.

Dr Farrugia, who is in charge of planning and the simplification of administrative processes, also referred to an investigation into the disappearance of files and documents at the planning authority.

As a result, some processes would be changed to reduce the possibility of corruption, he said.

At one point during the discussion, tempers flared when Astrid Vella, from the environmental NGO Flimkien għal Ambjent Aħjar, said people’s complaints were falling on deaf ears and they were sick of overdevelopment.

This was not a government that listened, she said, taking a dig at the name of the public consultation meetings.

She was cautioned by John Bundy who is leading the question-and-answer sessions. He insisted she should be asking questions, not making statements. Sandro Chetcuti, from the Malta Developers Association, said he did not agree with Ms Vella’s sweeping statement that the population did not want more development.

Pro-business did not mean pro-abuse, he said, noting developers had important roles, including in the tourism sector.

Dr Farrugia agreed with Ms Vella that the issue of disused properties should be addressed, adding the government was not afraid to enforce environmen-tal policies.

“I will not accept more illegalities in ODZ areas. I will not accept that people who live in glass houses throwing stones.

“There are people who are vociferous against Mepa, who had property in ODZ areas, and the board, despite being advised otherwise, sanctioned a development,” he said.

Addressing questions raised by the audience, he diverted complaints about the mushrooming of mobile telephony antennas on roofs to the health ministry and the communications authority, adding that the overuse of mobile phones, especially by young children, was more worrying.

Answering a question about illegalities discovered following the purchase of a property, he said buyers should make sure everything was in order before buying, but expressed solidarity with misguided purchasers.

Buyers who encountered these problems should take legal steps against those who had misguided them, he said.