Government publicity is giving incorrect and misleading messages in a bid to justify the new planning authority laws, which would increase politicians’ stranglehold, four NGOs charged yesterday.

Contrary to what is being claimed, at no point did the Flimkien għal Ambjent Aħjar, Ramblers’ Association, Friends of the Earth or MOAM give unconditional support to the splitting of Mepa.

The NGOs said they were ready to consider such a move as long as it strengthened the environment sector, which had always been practically ignored or had to give way to development interests.

The split or ‘demerger’ as was being proposed weakens the protection of environment even further, with the new Environment Authority being reduced to just another government entity to be consulted “at whim”.

The reality is that by sidelining the Environment Authority, the new regulations further weaken the protection of Malta’s outside development zones and the environment in general. The new law also ignores the impact of development on residents, as social impact is completely left out of the matters to be taken into account in the new spatial strategy policy.

The overriding drive of the new planning legislation is to strengthen the minister’s control over planning matters, not only through the appointment of board members, but also in granting or withholding information to the public, the NGOs said.

“Politicians have no place at Mepa; policies and decisions should be left to technical experts, with the backing of professional and impartial studies which have been missing from all recent policies.”