Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1082991
9 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 17 FEBRUARY 2019 NEWS Candidates are expected to carefully read and strictly follow the application process as published in the vacancy notice in the Government Gazette dated 8 February, 2019. Applications and relevant supporting documents are to be submitted by registered post, by hand or by e-mail, by no later than 1 March, 2019 at 12:00 (noon), Central European Time (CET). (i) Applications by registered post or by hand are to be in a sealed envelope clearly marked 'Private and Confidential' and addressed to: The Chairman, Malta Statistics Authority, Lascaris, Valletta, VLT 2000. (ii) E-mail applications should be sent to msa@gov.mt Late applications will not be considered. C A R E E R O P P O R T U N I T Y The Malta Statistics Authority (MSA) is the statistics regulatory body which draws its mandate from the Malta Statistics Authority Act. The National Statistics O"ce (NSO) is the executive arm of the Malta Statistics Authority, responsible for the production and dissemination of o"cial statistics. The NSO is also a member of the European Statistical System. RESPONSIBILITIES The Director General will report to the Chairman of the Malta Statistics Authority Board, and to its Sub- Committees, and will be responsible for and shall carry out the day-to-day operations of the O"ce in accordance with the general lines of policy established by the Authority from time to time. The specific remit of the Director General, NSO is specified in Part II of the MSA Act: Establishment, Function and Conduct of A–airs of the Authority under article 9(5). PERSONAL QUALITIES The Director General shall have strong analytical skills together with a proven track record in management and administration especially in motivating and leading teams towards completing planned projects. QUALIFICATIONS: The Director General is required to have a high competence in statistical matters, hence applicants must possess: a) A Ph.D (MQF 8) or equivalent in Economics, Business Management, Mathematics, Statistics, Banking and Finance, Business and Computing, Public Policy or a related subject and at least five (5) years experience in a technical statistics environment, of which three (3) years must be in a management position managing sizeable teams, or b) A Masters Degree or equivalent (MQF 7) in Economics, Business Management, Mathematics, Statistics, Banking and Finance, Business and Computing, Public Policy or a related subject and at least six (6) years experience in a technical statistics environment, of which four (4) years must be in a management position managing sizeable teams, or c) A Degree or equivalent (MQF 6) in Economics, Business Management, Mathematics, Statistics, Banking and Finance, Business and Computing, Public Policy or a related subject and at least eight (8) years experience in a technical statistics environment, of which four (4) years must be in a management position managing sizeable teams. Director General – National Statistics Oce Jobsplus permit no. 59/2019 | Jobsplus vacancy 345334 MATTHEW VELLA A Gulfstream jet that has been used for medical evacuations for Ebola patients from West Africa, made a quick stop in Malta earlier in the week. The twin-engine aircraft, which is operated by the Amer- ican Phoenix Air Group, is a mobile medical evacuation air- craft specifically designed for the Ebola outbreak. The plane landed in Malta on 14 February, and then flew to Stuttgart, where the head- quarters of the United States Africa Command (Africom) is located. Phoenix Air became the pri- mary air transport for many US. government and foreign governments employees who are potentially exposed to or carrying contagious diseases. In fact, Phoenix Air transport- ed the two Americans infected with the Ebola virus from Li- beria, Western Africa directly to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in At- lanta back in 2014. Phoenix Air uses a top of the line medical crew on standby 24/7 to transport patients to the US or Europe at a mo- ment's notice, building on two decades of experience in the ambulance transport business. In the wake of the Ebola out- break in West Africa, Phoenix Air purchased highly modified special mission Gulfstream IIIs from the Saudi Arabia military, enabling the company to move patients in an airborne inten- sive care unit from the ground ambulance into the aircraft. 'Ebola Air' jet makes Malta landing JAMES DEBONO A developer is seeking a permit for a batching plant that will be built on agricultural land outside development zones in Siggiewi, in the vicinity of the falconry centre nearby. The same site is the subject of a planning enforcement order over various illegalities, issued back in November. The application, presented by Univest Ltd shareholder Jason Mifsud, foresees the regulari- sation of illegal offices, stores and a construction yard spread over the 8,935sq.m site. Former environment minister George Pullicino is the project's archi- tect. The plans foresee a sloped landscaped area to screen the development from view. Nationalist MEP candidate Michael Briguglio originally reported the illegalities to the Planning Authority in No- vember, which subsequently ordered Univest to stop any further work and reinstate the field to its original state within 15 days of its notice, on pain of a daily fine. The list of illegalities docu- mented by the PA included the excavation of soil, the demo- lition and removal of several boundary walls surrounding the site, the change of use from an agricultural site to one used for parking heavy construc- tion vehicles, and the storage of steel rods used in the pre- fabrication of concrete. Following the expiry of the 15-day period, a PA spokesper- son revealed that a sanctioning application had been submit- ted. Now it emerges that the developer has not only applied to sanction the illegalities, but has raised the stakes by apply- ing for a full-blown batching plant. The application to regularise the illegalities effectively delays any enforcement action on the site. The site has a long history of planning enforcements, while the owner's attempts at regu- larising have always failed. In 2004, an enforcement or- der was issued against a stand- ing stonewall without permit and excavation works. But 18 years later the case is still listed as "pending direct action". The PA had already refused an ap- plication to regularise these works in 2006. In 2008, the PA issued anoth- er enforcement order against the "construction of a large warehouse, garages, stables and boundary walls without per- mit." Ten years later the case is listed as having been referred for "direct action vetting". Owner Epiphanio Mifsud ap- pealed the enforcement order, and the PA's appeals tribunal rejected his appeal in 2011. Another application to sanc- tion the illegalities was later dismissed by the PA and con- firmed on appeal in 2013. Indeed, rules introduced in 2011 had stopped allowing the PA to regularise development outside development zones that took place after 2008. But these rules were reversed in the new planning laws of 2014 – which means developers can still apply to sanction il- legalities outside development zones. Still, the conversion of agri- cultural land for industrial uses is not foreseen by the PA's ru- ral policy, making such an ap- proval highly questionable. Enforcement is delayed on illegal site with application to green-light a batching plant Owner proposes batching plant on site of Siggiewi illegalities