Mepa enforcement officers are being investigated after an environmentalist’s particulars were given to the father of a man he had reported over an illegal development.
Alan Deidun told the Times of Malta he had filed a report last month on what he suspected to be an illegal development in an outside development zone in Gudja. Mepa investigated the report and ordered the removal of illegal additions on site, he said.
However, on Wednesday, Prof. Deidun received an unexpected visit at his house from the father of the man he had reported. He said the visitor told him he had been tipped off by Mepa on the identity of the person who had filed the complaint and was determined to confront him.
This sort of behaviour is why people are scared of speaking up about illegal developments
Although Prof. Deidun said he did not feel overly threatened during the encounter, he feared the situation could easily have turned ugly. The fact that the man who confronted him was now familiar with his family home was of concern, he admitted.
“For all Mepa’s talk about protecting whistleblowers and encouraging the public to have a sense of civic responsibility, this goes against all sense of ethical behaviour,” he said. “This sort of attitude is why people are scared of speaking up about illegal developments.”
Prof. Deidun said that he had been contacted by a number of other high-profile environmentalists who reported similar experiences.
Moreover, he added, he regularly filed complaints on behalf of other people who were afraid of sticking their necks out precisely because of possible retaliation by law-breakers.
In an e-mail to Mepa, Prof. Deidun said the only people with access to the identity of those lodging complaints were the officials in the direct action and complaints teams.
He called for an investigation to find out who had leaked the information, insisting that disclosing such details should be considered a breach of the Mepa officials’ code of conduct.
Mepa CEO Johann Buttigieg confirmed that an investigation was underway. He also advised Prof. Deidun to file a report with the police as they would investigate and provide protection should it be necessary.
Prof. Deidun said he was hopeful the investigation would be successful but urged Mepa to stamp out unethical practices in its ranks.
“The majority of enforcement officers are very professional and do extremely good work but then you find a few who ruin it with this irresponsible behaviour. It undermines the trust people should have in the authorities,” Prof. Deidun said.