Raymond Vassallo writes:
Architect Joseph Cachia Fearne passed away abruptly in June after a challenging career somewhat offset from mainstream architectural practice. He was a formidable mathematician and structural analyst, a methodical engineer at heart.
These areas of competence eminently qualified him to manage Malta’s leading construction company, Cementstone, at a time when reinforced concrete had just made its debut locally after the end of World War II.
Under his direction, the company pioneered the use of precast elements in the local construction industry, while concrete technology made a significant step forward. Cementstone was responsible for the execution of several important, private and public projects, among them the bridges spanning Wied Għomor, part of the Sliema Regional Road.
Having spent several years with Joe in the council of the Chamber of Architects, I got to know, and to better appreciate his qualities. Though he was one of the senior members, he displayed youthful energy and was continuously triggering change through his creative ideas and eloquent debating. The presidency of the council was offered to him several times, but he always declined. He operated more effectively from the wings.
On the other hand, the country was indeed fortunate that Joe, on his retirement, accepted the chairmanship of the Planning Areas Permits Board (predecessor of the Development Control Committees).
That chairmanship was one of the cleanest ever, in so far as it was not vitiated by conflict of interest. Joe did not have a private practice. Moreover, his chairmanship was strengthened by a high level of competence in planning matters and, importantly, by a robustness against the pressures of graft and political intrigue.
He churned out innumerable development applications, almost singlehandedly, with a speed and with a consistency that no committee can match. He proved that any process involving evaluation and judgment achieves far better results through a single operator, as opposed to a collegial approach, provided, of course, that operator possessed those credentials of competence, integrity and robustness.
It is ironic that the successors of the PAPB, the Planning Authority and now Mepa, were saddled with the trappings of a court of law, in terms of bureaucratic procedure, but were then denied the strongest weapon, namely, that of a single adjudicator equipped with the credentials just mentioned. If you want to condemn decisions to inordinate delay, delegate them to a committee.
That’s exactly what happened after Joe retired from his adjudication role. Never before Joe’s interlude or since, has the planning evaluation process reached such a high level of performance, in terms of quality and output. Joe is missed indeed.