A very important meeting was held last week where GRTU and Mepa held a reaching out exercise for GRTU members to have direct access to Mepa and hear their complaints, problems and suggestions related to this Authority.

President Paul Abela stated that Mepa is very important for business as many enterprises at one point or another, or sometimes on multiple occasions, have to deal with Mepa and many times they depend on Mepa to operate or proceed with their plans.

Mr Abela stated that this is a very important exercise that has started in 2013 and which will be followed up.

Mepa CEO Ian Stafrace stated that since the reform, Mepa has undergone drastic changes and has worked hard to set and meet deadlines, become more responsive and sensitive to the needs of businesses and, most of all, to be more accessible and communicate better. This is why he welcomed this opportunity to meet GRTU members directly as many times important improvements can be made through better knowledge of the relevant sectors and one can learn from such communication. With increased knowledge, Mepa aims to become more proactive.

The issue that was first presented by GRTU members concerned petrol stations. Many petrol stations have had pending applications with Mepa for several years now in order to relocate to a new kerb-side pump. It was requested that Mepa would give priority to the issue in order to have it settled.

Mepa CEO replied by saying that they are aware of the issue and that the quarries are encountering a similar situation. Dr Stafrace continued saying that at first such applications were few and no specific policy was needed but later it developed into a trend and they were caught up in a policy vacuum and they did not want to proceed before they had the adequate policy framework. In addition to this, there are so many applications that it has now become an administrative problem.

The CEO also acknowledged that however the issue has dragged on and needs to be addressed. Such a delay is not only unacceptable for the commercial sector but it is also unacceptable for Mepa.

Mr Abela suggested that the distinctions between the petrol stations should be eliminated and we should gather them all and treat them as one group.

GRTU council member representing the agriculture sector, Stephen Galea, said that the agriculture sector has several problems when it comes to Mepa. He questioned the fact that Mepa worked with the timeframes it stated as he himself had a bad experience. He also said that he knew of other cases where a farmer for example had to wait one year before he could go ahead to be able to cover his water reservoir, something that is positive and not very complicated. They are already at a disadvantage because they are in ODZ areas and then full-time farmers are only given up to 40sqm for a store. He said that this is an impossible situation for a full-time farmer but at the same time he understood that there are environmental and visual implications and therefore he proposed that they would be given the option to expand underground.

Mr Galea continued by questioning why Mepa’s permit application fees were so high and whether this was to discourage applications? He said that especially for farmers these were just too prohibitive and he doubted how many applications were received by Mepa, for example, to apply for a green house.

He commented that he already heard that the new board chairman was a staunch environmentalist and he stated that the approach must be a balanced one and consider also the point of view of the farmer. He said that he welcomed the works expressed by the CEO very much but Mepa needs to communicate this approach better and show it through actions.

The Mepa chairman stated that he is very familiar with the genuine problems as in the past he was closely involved in the farmers’ cooperative and he still has close contacts. The issue concerning size was realistic and Mepa has already carried out work in this regard. Regarding the delays he said that a distinction must be made before the reform and after the reform. He believes that since the reform in January 2011, Mepa has kept 100% to its promises, but there are older applications that are still in the system.

Regarding the application rates, he said that it could be that following this meeting the application rates for certain sectors would be revised but that would have to be discussed with the ministry.

The chairman also called for the backing of the agriculture department. He said that it would be ideal if the agriculture department had a dedicated section that would analyse agriculture related applications and even guide Mepa as to the importance of having them approved with their backing, if need be even by over-ruling certain policies.

Mr Abela stated that many sectors have to deal with different government departments and it takes very long to get the papers and approvals from all these departments. He therefore suggested that all stakeholders involved should come together and form a one- stop-shop.

There were also a number of other issues that arose. A member explained that because of an accident on the area, sittings took very long and came to cost him a lot of money and in the meantime he lost his permits. Since the permits were lost he had to rent another area, even though he is the owner of an area. Mepa CEO sympathised very much with this individual and stated that this case is very worrying and a solution needs to be found and that Mepa will meet him to discuss his situation.

On areas of containment, Mepa said that there were many open areas that required a revision of the structural plan.

The issue of eco-contribution and waste packaging was also mentioned. Mepa said that it worked closely with GRTU in order to ensure a fair playing field. Mepa CEO said that evasion will never cease but he said that government has organised a committee for all enforcement government authorities to come together to pool resources and enhance their enforcement efforts.

Mario Debono, GRTU council member who represents GRTU on Mepa Users’ Committee, spoke about the need for Mepa not to be too restrictive. He asked how, for example, Mepa would itself make proposals for new marinas, which are needed to enhance tourism. He mentioned the marina in Kalkara that was protected by a floating breakwater instead of a fixed one, resulting in much less protection for the boats inside. He also mentioned that there should have also been the construction of a breakwater at Tigne Point.

Mr Debono also delved into the Floor Area Ratio policy. He asked why Mepa had such policy in place but was not actuating it. He asserted that Mepa should be clear about its policy or else replace it with a new Design Guidance Policy, where good design and undeveloped open spaces are rewarded with extra floors.

Mepa CEO mentioned that he would like communication to improve and to have feedback from the sector especially when Mepa issues consultation documents. He said that with consultation, policies can only improve but limited feedback was received. Dr Stafrace said that, for instance, currently there is an important consultation process regarding applications for change of use by establishments.

Mr Abela said that GRTU has a very effective publication, the GRTU newSTRING, which Mepa can also use as a communication tool.

Another GRTU council member, Saviour Vella, who represents cargo hauliers put forward a complaint on Cites saying that cargo hauliers and importers were experiencing difficulties resulting from the limited opening hours of the Cites office that falls under Mepa. Currently the Cites office opens only for three days a week, for a few hours each time. This was holding up goods and thus Mr Vella requested that Cites opens more frequently and for longer hours.

GRTU also mentioned the importance of confidentiality when reports are sent to Mepa and the Mepa chairman assured that Mepa already has a strict confidentiality policy in place.

The meeting was concluded and those present were offered the opportunity to meet Mepa privately on their individual cases. Members who wish to discuss issues with Mepa should contact GRTU.