The Prime Minister has declared recently that should his government be returned to office, Mepa will be directly under his remit. This declaration requires examination. In the first place it would appear to be a direct condemnation of Minister George Pullcino’s efforts in the environmental field. It is hugely unfair and incorrect for the Prime Minister to hang Minister Pullicino out to dry for torts which are not his alone.

I cite two examples. If I remember correctly, George Pullicino was not the politician who decided on the arbitrary reduction of the size of Outside Development Zones (ODZ). Nor was he privy to the decision to site a golf course at Xaghra l-Hamra. These environmentally disastrous decisions were taken directly by the Prime Minister. If these decisions are the parameter of an environmental ministry in the hands of the Prime Minister, then we are in for a rough ride. The Prime Minister was also the prime defender of the Ramla Bay disaster.

Another aspect of this decision is the gonzipn syndrome that is now more than simply an electoral ploy. The Nationalist Party has now reduced itself to a one-man show. It is only the Prime Minister who is fronting the Nationalist Party campaign. If we take this to its legitimate extent, this can only mean the Prime Minister intends to take everything under his wing. In a sense this is tantamount to dictatorial governance within a democratic context.

The Prime Minister has made it amply clear now that he will be more than a primus inter pares. This is dangerous and uncalled for. If, as seems now amply clear, the Prime Minister needs to weed out the chaff from the wheat then this ought to have been done with direct intervention and not with an electoral plea to vote for the new and get rid of the old. The Prime Minister has decided to go alone. In order to avoid the possibility of appearing to prefer some ministers over others, he is appearing with ministers in unavoidable official functions only.

In effect the Prime Minister is ridiculing the electorate and once more appears weak in his handling of the people around him. Those who did not deliver should have been shelved pure and simple. It is hugely irresponsible of the Prime Minister to expect the electorate to do what is, really, his main function as a Prime Minister which is to control the people around him.

The Prime Minister’s declaration that the environment will be his remit brings forward another issue: what changes, really? Apart from stating that Mepa will be in his remit we have no idea what is being proposed. Will he have a new procedural regime? What rules will apply to Environmental Impact Assessments? Will the present rules allowing waivers of such assessments at will, remain? How will the appointments on the various Mepa boards be made? Will any new parameters be put in? Will time frames, which are so important, be imposed and respected? Will Mepa pay for undue delay? What steps will be taken when Mepa acts negligently? How will the element of consistent decision making and application of policies be managed? What rules will apply to permit withdrawal? All these are questions that have been legitimately put over the past few years and have been in the main repeatedly ignored.

And now the latest. One of Mepa’s main boards (DCC A) resigns. Rather than wait for the outcome of the election the Prime Minister has decided to substitute the board with new members. One simple question – why the rush? Surely not intended to accommodate some applicants with a general election so soon?

Simon Micallef Stafrace

Valletta