I refer to Noel Grima’s article last Sunday on the proposed Mepa reform.

However, the main thrust of my criticism is not that politicians are taking over again but that the reform ignores the interests and concerns of the common citizen.

His own story on page 9 is a classic example. With a DCC that is part and parcel of the directorate, the applicant would have been short-changed.

The boffins (as he calls them) never bothered to analyse what’s really wrong with Mepa and opted to propose things that sound nice to the self-appointed defenders of the environment who think they know everything. With the new system, complaints about Mepa ignoring citizens’ plight are bound to increase not decrease.

Meanwhile, those who provoked the short-sighted changes will still keep on criticising government and Mepa decisions. That is why I think this is a political auto-goal!

Michael Falzon

Mosta