Speaking at a press conference held in front of Mepa offices in Floriana, Alternattiva Demokratika acting chairman Stephen Cachia said, “It is obvious to all and sundry that the Nationalist government has gone into election mode and is trying to make up for the drop in its support by ingratiating itself with the construction lobby”.

“This exercise which started in July 2006 with the ‘rationalisation’ of the development boundaries is continuing with the proposed amendments to the EIA regulations, which were published in the government gazette on 2 February”, continued Mr Cachia.

Ralph Cassar, AD Spokesperson for Energy and Environment, said that “AD finds these proposed changes unacceptable because they will skew a process which is already slanted in favour of the developer, even further”

“A developer is now being given the right to appeal to the Director of Environmental Policy and Initiatives within the Ministry of Rural Affairs and the Environment, whose decision is final,” added Mr Cassar.

Mr Cassar continued by saying, “This sanctions the end of Mepa’s supposed autonomy”. “It is inconceivable that the decision taken by an authority which is staffed by fully-qualified personnel can be overruled by a single person”, continued Mr Cassar. Mr Cassar added that “This is highly unethical and will do nothing but increase the political patronage which is so rampant in this country.” “It is a big pity, and indeed a huge waste of human resources to transform the professional staff at Mepa (most of which are in possession of post-graduate degrees), into rubber stamps of the government’s electoral needs. One can’t but empathise with the frustrations of these employees”, added Mr Cassar.

“To add insult to injury, through these amendments, the government is proposing to slacken the EIA requirements for certain projects, this is a further confirmation of the fact that the Nationalist government will always champion the interests of the speculators,” said Mr Cassar.

“2006 has definitely been an annus horribilis for Mepa, especially when one considers the reports issued by the Audit Officer. It is indeed dangerous that the credibility and accountability of such an important regulator have been so seriously challenged,” concluded Mr Cassar.

Also present at the Press Conference was Michael Briguglio, AD’s Sliema local councillor; who added that: “The residents of Sliema are very disappointed by Mepa’s attitude. It seems that a decision has been taken to bury them alive among a myriad of high-rise projects such as the ‘old union club’ development (a 32-storey building), the Tignè point development, the Fort Cambridge development and others.”

He said the fact that these projects will contribute to a drastic increase in traffic flow and thereby a degradation of the air quality of the locality, was not given due consideration. These speculation projects are also going to affect negatively the residents of Gzira, Ta’ Xbiex, Msida and St Julian’s.

Mr Briguglio also challenged Mepa “to deny or confirm rumours that the requirement to carry out an Environmental Impact Statement has been waived for the Fort Cambridge development because the government committed itself with the developers to issue the necessary permits within three months”. “If this is so, then the Nationalist government has truly abandoned any vestige of public ethics and whoever is responsible for this has got no other option but to tender his resignation,” added Mr Briguglio.

Mr Briguglio concluded by saying, “For the PN, the interests of a handful of speculators always get the upper hand over the interests of the Sliema residents, even though the vast majority of them have repeatedly voted for this party”.

Stephen Cachia continued by saying, “Transforming Mepa into a serious and accountable public body will be one of our top priorities.” “AD will push for the setting up of a Permanent Parliamentary Environment Committee, and the authorities responsible for both development planning and for environmental protection will be accountable to this committee only and not to any particular minister”, added Mr Cachia.

“We will also make sure that the constitution of the boards of the authorities responsible for both development planning and for environmental protection reflect Maltese society and we will make sure that environmental NGOs, local councils, and civil society in general are adequately represented”, concluded Mr Cachia.