The Church's environment commission (KA) in a statement today defended the Mepa audit officer after he was criticised for comments he made in the wake of a court judgement in the Mistra case and with regard to the proposed development on Qala Ridge.

The auditor, Joe Falzon, had been criticised by the Prime Minister and Mepa itself.

"The KA feels that the criticism of the audit officer was not appropriate and one should consider his reports in the spirit in which they were written... rather than having another political football," the commission said.

The commission said the past few years had shown that the audit officer had worked correctly and shown integrity and courage. He had become Mepa's public conscience.

The commission said it appreciated that Mepa had difficult and delicate roles, and it was for this reason that it needed to be guided by such a public conscience.

When the audit officer expressed his views, he was only doing his duty as required by law. It would be a major mistake and a lack of maturity, to criticise the audit officer simply because one disagreed with him, even when one thought he was right on a legal point. In doing so, one would not only be undermining the auditor's moral authority, but one would also be promoting a culture of omerta which would not allow the uncomfortable truth to be heard.

The commission also deplored attempts to gain political mileage from what the audit officer said.

It said the audit officer himself should realise, as he probably already did, that whoever agreed to take on the role of being Mepa's conscience could expect fair and unfair criticism from all sides. This happened because of the major implications of decisions taken by Mepa.

Such criticism should not discourage the auditor as long as he did his duty with loyalty to society.

See also

http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20091113/local/mepa-lambasts-auditor

http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20091109/local/gonzi-lambasts-mepa-auditor-for-shameful-comments