Of all the reforms that have been put forward by the government since it was returned to office in March, the one that got the least attention so far in the media is that which concerns the Malta Environment and Planning Authority.

It’s not because it is the least important. It is, in fact, the most controversial of the lot, considering the complaints and protests that had pushed Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi to announce, before the election, that he will be taking over Mepa within his portfolio were he to be re-elected to the post.

He was, and, with the benefit of hindsight, it can be said that this pre-election promise was one of the issues that tipped the balance in favour of the Nationalist Party on 8 March.

Since then, however, nothing much has been said about Mepa. While there has been a lot of talk about the reform that is being planned in rent regulations, local councils and public transport, for some reason the changes to be implemented at Mepa have not received so much attention.

One of Dr Gonzi’s first official appointments had been an official visit to the Mepa offices in Floriana. That time, he had refused to answer questions from journalists, although they had been invited to cover the event. This had provoked some negative reaction from the media, eager as it was to get to know more about the government’s plans for the sector.

That time too, the Prime Minister had made public a proposed code of ethics for Mepa employees and appointees. Soon afterwards, Austin Walker had been appointed Mepa chairman, replacing Andrew Calleja.

Since then, Mepa was in the news notably for two reasons. The first was on 26 June with the withdrawal of the controversial application to develop an area in Mistra into an open-air discotheque – which had characterised the last week of the election campaign.

The second issue once again exposed Mepa to great criticism. This was because, at the following Mepa board hearing a week later on 4 July, journalists came in possession of a copy of a Mepa statement stating that a Fort Cambridge permit had been approved when a decision on the matter was still to have been taken.

Mepa has not been very much in the news since then, except for its weekly meetings on Thursdays and the recent publication of a development brief for the Hal Ferh area in Ghajn Tuffieha. Little has been said about the Mepa reform the government had announced, until last week when Dr Gonzi said the government will be in a position to announce its decisions by the end of the year.

The reform is expected to implement new practices at the authority that are aimed to foster greater transparency, accountability and consistency in decisions taken, while at the same time rendering its enforcement capacity stronger.

In the coming weeks, Dr Gonzi said he would be meeting with Mepa staff, after which the government would be formulating its decisions. Rather than meet the staff all together, it is envisaged that such meetings are carried out with smaller groups so as to give more employees the possibility to share their views with the Prime Minister.

The government is also meeting a number of entities that also have a contribution to make in the reform process.

The announcement of the government’s reform plans later this year will only be another piece of the puzzle. Once what kind of reform is decided upon, then the most crucial part of it all will begin – its implementation. And it is on this that the government will be judged.

It has promised a new way of doing things at Mepa. We wait for the day.