The Environment and Planning Review Tribunal has been “misapplying the law” for not suspending construction developments when an appeal has been filed against the permit, Moviment Graffiti’s Andre Callus said.

“The Tribunal is a farce. This tribunal is not a tribunal at all, these are just people appointed by the government on the basis of other interests and they do not decide in an independent way,” Callus told The Malta Independent.

Callus said this in response to Prime Minister Robert Abela hinting that there may be a reform that would prevent developments to continue whenever an appeal has been filed.

After getting in contact with Callus to get a reaction to the Prime Minister’s comments, he said that what Abela was mentioning was “obvious.” He added that Graffiti had proposed the same thing years ago.

“Development should absolutely be suspended until the tribunal comes to a decision,” he said.

He mentioned how currently, Graffiti have two appeals ongoing which are both against permits granted to Gozitan developer Joseph Portelli – one for a development in Qala and the other for a development in Sannat.

Development for both these cases has continued, he said. “Even if we win the case the development would have already taken place. It is absurd.”

“The problem is not only the law. If we think that by changing this obvious point there will be a planning reform, then we are not going to achieve anything.”

“The problems are a lot more profound than that. The tribunal itself is the problem. In fact, the current law makes it pretty clear that works should be suspended if irreversible works are to take place. It is the Tribunal which is not accepting the request for suspension.”

Court sentences, he said have repeatedly pointed out how the Tribunal has “broken conduct.”

“Right now you have no other option but to go in front of the Tribunal, waste a lot of money in front of the Tribunal, and then go to court after.

Callus said that a planning reform would only be what Abela mentioned, but it would incorporate the system as a whole.

During Abela’s Labour Day speech, he questioned whether it “makes sense – if it ever did” that Malta’s planning laws allow construction developments to start works on a project when that same project is still being contested by an appeal in a tribunal or in court.

Abela was cautious not to outwardly pronounce himself on the matter – which may prove to be controversial with the construction industry, given how its chief representative the President of the MDA Michael Stivala recently accused NGOs of accepting money from competitors to protest against particular projects.

Instead, Abela said that the country needs to start discussing this change to come up with a system which is just but cannot be “sabotaged.”