MEPA auditor wants Prime Minister to set up DCC inquiry
James Debono An investigation of a number of permits granted by MEPA on the archeologically sensitive area of Ta’ Baldu in Dingli has prompted the planning authority’s Auditor Joe Falzon to call for a full-scale investigation of the development control commission’s Division A’s activists which issued the controversial permits.
“When I go over this list of applications – practically all to sanction – it makes me wonder what the point is of having the MEPA in the first place,” Falzon declared in his latest outburst within a report on the development of a villa in Ta’ Baldu.
“What is the point of having MEPA at considerable expense to the taxpayer when the professional advice of its officers is flagrantly ignored by the DCC without any justification being given? Why not revert back to the previous PAPB system where a board supported with the minimum clerical staff approved or rejected planning applications with little if any professional input? It would be much cheaper for the taxpayer than maintaining the MEPA, and the result would be the same,” writes Falzon.
The auditor’s report on the Ta’ Baldu permit reprimands the DCC which had resigned en masse back in March 2008 after the auditor reproached it for a permit it issued for the Lidl supermarket in Safi. The same board also issued permits in Mistra and Bahrija which were later revoked by MEPA.
The development investigated in the latest report consisted in the construction of a rural villa complete with extensive gardens, play areas, swimming pool – partly carried out illegally – which the applicant subsequently sanctioned by submitting applications.
Falzon expressed his preoccupation on the number of cases he investigated involving the actions of the DCC Division A which he described as a “major cause of concern.”
“No adequate explanation has ever been given for these actions of the DCC. The fact that this Board has now been replaced is not a sufficient redress in the circumstances. In interests of the reputation of the MEPA, and the fact that no satisfactory justification for these decisions was ever given, I would recommend to MEPA to request the Prime Minister to set up a formal Commission of Inquiry under the Inquiries Act to investigate in detail the operations of the DCC Division A and make appropriate recommendations to the Government.”
The auditor added that unless “politics are involved”, the actions of MEPA are beyond scrutiny and have to be justified irrespective of circumstances.
He said the Ta’ Baldu cases was an even “more serious case” than the Bahrija and Mistra developments which were given so much publicity.
“At least in those cases the applicant did not carry out any development before he had the necessary permits from MEPA. In this case the applicant carried out the development illegally and then applied to sanction a fait accompli.”
In view of the level of protection given to the area by law, the Auditor has called on MEPA to seek legal advice to see whether the permits were issued in accordance to the provisions of the law.
In its reply, MEPA insisted that the DCC followed all the standard procedures for consideration of an application and that it is bound to honour all decisions taken by its commissions, irrespective of whether it itself concurs with these decisions.
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