Carmel Cacopardo was, again, not admitting that the process about the Sant’Antnin waste recycling plant had been carried out according to law, as confirmed by the European Commission, the Rural Affairs and the Environment Ministry said yesterday.

It was referring to the release of an unpublished report by the Malta Environment and Planning Authority which Mr Cacopardo has published, saying that though the report had not been published by Mepa because of pending court cases, these pending cases had not prevented the plant from starting to operate.

The report was drawn up by Mr Cacopardo himself, when he worked in the Mepa auditor’s office. The ministry pointed out that the report was still inconclusive, and had been published by him against the advice of the ombudsman and the Mepa auditor.

The ministry said Mr Cacopardo himself admitted that the legal process was still being dealt with, which was the reason why the ombudsman had advised the auditor not to publish.

Alternattiva Demokratika, for which Mr Cacopardo was contesting the election, have had ambiguous positions over the years. It had agreed with the 2001 national strategy on waste management, which said that the Sant’Antnin plant should handle all Malta’s waste, but now AD had not justified why it had changed its position. The suspicion arose that this was political opportunism, because Mr Cacopardo was himself contesting the Marsascala district.

The ministry said that all the studies that were necessary according to the terms of reference which had been drawn up for the environment impact assessment during the consultation process, had been completed and were certified by the Mepa.