Environmental NGO Din l-Art Helwa said this morning that it has accepted a conclusion by the MEPA board, which stated that authority CEO Johann Buttigieg has no conflict of interest. The NGO however said that it had not received any official communication form Mepa on the subject.

The NGO was replying to a legal letter it received from MEPA’s lawyer Dr Robert Abela after it had reacted to a report, published in The Malta Independent on Sunday, which made reference to Mr Buttigieg’s wife’s involvement in a number of companies. Din l-Art Helwa was asked to apologise and withdraw the statement it had issued last week.   

Reacting to 29 June news report, DLH said that, “furthermore, it should be self-evident that the chief executive officer of a regulating authority and officials should not have financial interests in the sector which they are involved in regulating.  From yesterday's report, it appears that MEPA's CEO has been directly involved in extensive property development".

In the legal letter to the NGO, Dr Abela said that unless Din l-Art Helwa withdraw the statement and apologise within two days then his client will proceed to take action against the NGO and its council.

“Din l-Art Helwa’s statement referred to the report in the Sunday Independent wherein it was reported that the wife of Mr Johann Buttigieg was a shareholder of various companies that were involved in property development. In its statement, DLH called on the MEPA chairman “to confirm to the public whether this is the case or not, as any uncertainty on this matter will only serve to further erode public trust in the Planning Authority.”

MEPA’s own Code of Ethics states that its employees “shall avoid any financial or other interest or undertaking that could directly or indirectly compromise the performance of their duties.” The code also emphasises the importance of transparency because owning or having “interests in property that may be affected by planning and land management decisions” presents “a real potential for conflict of interest.”

DLH has not received any communication from MEPA to date on this matter, however it has now been reported in the press  that, following a meeting with the CEO, the MEPA Board stated that Mr Buttigieg had confirmed that the two companies in which his wife was involved, Ta’ Pinu Developments Ltd and Zebbiegh Developments Ltd, had been closed down some time before Mr Buttigieg was appointed CEO of MEPA, and that she was still a shareholder in MMB Ltd which had not acquired further property since 2008.

Din l-Art Helwa accepts the conclusion of the MEPA Board that Mr Buttigieg has no conflicts of interest with respect to property development and his role as chief executive officer of the Planning Authority.