It is heartening to learn that the government is about to reform the Malta Environment and Planning Authority. It is about time that this was done because Mepa has been challenged without respite, about many illogical policies. Not forgetting the enormous harm it has caused to the political party in power, that has created it.

It is not yet known to the people out there, what sort of reforms are in the pipeline. But I am sure there is consensus that the responsible reformers must remove their blinkers, look around carefully and take note of our limitations, essentially refraining from copying almost everything that their counterparts legislate in countries like the UK. Heritage, culture, density of population and the limited space earmarked for development should all be underlined all the time in amending existing policies and introducing others. But let's stop putting on ridiculous over sized outfit, that only suit perfectly our big, elder and wealthy foreign "brother"!

It's not my intention to pinpoint those policies or parts thereof that should be reformed, because I am sure the government has very competent persons that are knowledgeable about these matters, who will be deployed on this long awaited task. However, I do want to address one particular policy that should be reformed vigorously.

A person, who through his/her architect, submits an application with Mepa for permission to erect a building, would have undertaken certain essential commitments, entailed expenses, and gone through research work, to find out what is permitted to be erected on his/her land, in line with policies obtainable at time of application, before finally deciding to file the application.

In such circumstances, the applicant would be logically entitled to expect that permission to build would be granted in a comparatively short time, without any hassle. Unfortunately, more often than not, Mepa looks at an application negatively, and procrastinates, before processing an application, perhaps because bureaucratic red tape reigns supreme at every stage of the process. However, perhaps the worst practice that applicants encounter quite frequently when dealing with Mepa, is the changing of existing policies affecting a particular site after an application related to that particular site has been filed.

I am not suggesting that new policies are not to be introduced, or existing policies are never to be amended, because this wouldn't be the way to go forward in the interest of our country. However, an application based strictly on existing policies, conforming to existing rules and regulations, should be processed specifically and exclusively on the terms that exist on the day when the application was correctly filed and accepted by Mepa, and not on policies that would be amended or newly introduced after date of application.

This sinister practice has been ongoing since Mepa's inception. As this injustice is causing grave aggravations and serious hardships to applicants, it should be immediately stopped. It is tantamount to moving the goal posts at the moment a striker shoots, in a game of football! Could anyone imagine more unfair play than this?