The Nationalist Party said today that a letter by the Prime Minister to the Mepa chairman showed how the government regarded the institutions as matters it could steam roll over.

The Prime Minister wrote to the chairman this morning, saying that if the authority issued the permit for the gas power station, the government would go ahead with it even if an appeal was filed.

The chairman, Vince Cassar, said the government was within its rights to do so. The government itself later said the Appeals Tribunal could not stop Mepa-approved projects of strategic importance.

In a statement, the PN said the prime minister’s letter appeared to be an attempt to condition Mepa.

It said Dr Muscat was continuing to ignore the residents’ concerns and the concerns of NGOs and the opposition. He had even appointed to the Mepa board a member who had a direct interest in the project.

All this showed that for the prime minister, the institutions were there to serve his partisan interests and not to serve the interests of the Maltese. When faced with constructive criticism, this government only listened to itself.

OPM EXPLAINS

In a reaction, the Office of the Prime Minister explained that the government wanted the development application to be considered and decided upon by Mepa in terms of the law, and it did not interfere.

But once a decision was taken, the law also provided that the works could not be stopped through a request during the appeal stage because they were of strategic importance. The law laid down that the Appeals Tribunal did not have the power to stop Mepa-approved projects which were of strategic importance.

The former Nationalist government had introduced this provision of the law and used it several times, and the Opposition's attitude today was only meant to obstruct, the government said.