Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1096093
18 maltatoday EXECUTIVE EDITOR Matthew Vella MANAGING EDITOR Saviour Balzan Letters to the Editor, MaltaToday, Vjal ir-Rihan, San Gwann SGN 9016 E-mail: dailynews@mediatoday.com.mt Letters must be concise, no pen names accepted, include full name and address maltatoday | SUNDAY • 24 MARCH 2019 29 March 2009 MEPA helps itself to car park fund to buy Hexagon House AFTER MaltaToday confirmed that the Malta Environment and Planning Authority (MEPA) bought Hexagon House using cash from a publicly financed parking fund, the Hamrun local council claims to have 'lost' €45,000 from its share of the allotted funds. The council is now requesting an urgent meet- ing with MEPA's chairman, Austin J. Walker. In order to buy Hexagon House in Marsa – the same building which made headlines this week, due to emissions of hydrogen sulphide from the sewage system leading to its evacua- tion on Monday – MEPA took out a €3.1 mil- lion, interest-free loan from the Community Parking Payment Scheme (CPPS): a fund used to finance community car parks. This arrangement has angered local councils, as the CPPS is financed directly by fees develop- ers pay to MEPA if they are unable to provide the required parking facilities for their projects. The money is then used to finance car parks. The Hamrun council is particularly incensed, as the funding supposedly allocated by MEPA for a new car park in the locality has now shrunk by €44,536 on account of the author- ity's loan from CPPS. "The Council was surprised to learn that funds collected in Hamrun through CPPS were used by MEPA to purchase a new premises, and will be requesting an urgent meeting with the chairman of MEPA to further discuss this issue," executive secretary Philip Massa told MaltaToday. Massa said that in November 2007 the Ham- run council had enquired with MEPA on the amount of money collected through the CPPS for the construction of an underground car park in Duke of Edinburgh street, that was devolved to the council by the government. The council was informed €150,430 had been collected in CPPS funds from Hamrun. But a year later, the council was told that only €105,894 were left in the same fund. Upon receiving this information, the council wrote to former MEPA director-general God- win Cassar to enquire why the balance had decreased, but the council never received an answer. Nor did MEPA answer questions sent by MaltaToday on this matter. The Hamrun council's project consists of a five-storey underground car park accommo- dating 160 vehicles, a new council office and a recreational garden. Nationalist backbencher Robert Arrigo, a former Sliema mayor, is insisting that the CPPS monies should be devolved to councils to enable them carry out roadworks. MEPA had accumulated €7.45 million from 10 localities through the CPPS before pur- chasing Hexagon House. It will now repay the €3.1 million loan in four years, at zero interest. MaltaToday 10 years ago Quote of the Week Separation of powers is long overdue Editorial ''My main disappointment is not convincing people that (Partnership rather than full EU Membership) was the best for Malta.'' Former PM and Labour MEP Alfred Sant reflects on his career on TVM's XTRA JUSTICE Minister Owen Bonnici's announce- ment that a Bill will be tabled in parliament on Monday – looking to separate the powers of the Attorney General, among other changes – marks the first serious step to addressing short- coming identified by the Council of Europe's Venice Commission report late last year. On its visit in November 2018, the Venice Commission found a total lack of a system of checks and balances to regulate the Prime Minister's powers in Malta is missing. The Commission, an advisory body of the Coun- cil, said that the power of the Prime Minister "widely overshadows" that of other govern- ment bodies, including the President, Parlia- ment, the cabinet, the judiciary and the om- budsman. The experts also singled out the "double role" of the AG as government advisor and prosecutor, calling it "problematic". Taking into account the Prime Minister's powers, notably the influence on judicial appointments which comes with the role, "crucial checks and balances are missing", the experts added. "This problem is accentuated by the weakness of civil society and the inde- pendent media," they underlined. These are all serious shortcomings in any democracy; and many have been highlighted long before this report. In 2011, MP Franco Debono, then a backbencher of the National- ist government, had presented a private mem- bers' motion on judicial and police reform, which included a "revision and redefinition of powers" entrusted to the AG. Debono had argued, among other things, for an independent prosecution office to do away with the conflicting role played by the AG, but his initiative got stalled in Parlia- ment. In 2013, the Bonello Commission set up by the Justice Minister to propose wide-ranging reforms, had proposed the creation of a pros- ecutor general's office to address the matter. No changes have been made to the AG's roles and the Opposition has now joined the cho- rus of criticism on the matter. Nonetheless Prime Minister Joseph Mus- cat's response to the Venice report was to an- nounce that the recommendations would all be taken on board. Bonnici's announcement this week suggests that he meant business… even if the proposed Bill only appears to tackle some of the raised issues (there is, for instance, no mention of curtailing any of the Prime Minister's other executive powers). It is perhaps understandable that the role of the Attorney General would be prioritised. Under the present system, the AG has three basic functions: he has the power to institute, undertake and discontinue criminal proceed- ings; he advises the government on legal mat- ters and represents the interests of the State in judicial proceedings; he also helps draft laws and agreements. The AG also chairs the board of governors of the Financial Intel- ligence Analysis Unit, a role that landed the present incumbent at the centre of political controversy. Political controversy also underpins all those other roles. The role of chief prosecutor clearly places the AG at odds with his other function of serving as government's legal ad- visor. What happens when criminal investiga- tions are carried out – or, more pointedly,not carried out – into government figures or activity? Given the events of the past three years alone – where the AG's role has been repeat- edly called into question – it is surprising that it even had to take an urgent demand by the Council of Europe to finally address this issue. There were even calls for current AG Peter Grech's resignation, on the basis that he allegedly reneged on his duty to prosecute Tourism Minister Konrad Mizzi and the PM's chief of staff Keith Schembri, among oth- ers, on suspicions of money laundering and kickbacks found in reports drawn up by the Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit. The FIAU had carried out an audit of Ta' Xbiex-based Pilatus Bank and flagged suspi- cious transactions involving various politi- cally exposed persons. The FIAU report had implied that Schembri received kickbacks from the sale of Maltese citizenship. Schem- bri and Tonna deny any wrongdoing. The veracity of this claim is not, in itself, the issue here; it is rather that no criminal action was taken at all, at a time when the man responsible for prosecution was also the government's legal counsel. Moreover, ambiguities exist concerning the powers of the AG. When the Opposition called on Grech to use the powers vested in him by the Prevention of Money Laundering Act to initiate a criminal investigation, Grech insisted the law did not empower him to start a criminal investigation and issue criminal charges. All the same, one cannot overlook that these issues have existed for years, and that no serious attempt was ever made, by any for- mer administration, to introduce the neces- sary checks and balances. From this perspec- tive alone, Bonnici deserves credit for taking the bull by the horns. Moreover, he also said cabinet had also given him a mandate to start a legislative process through which amendments will be made to five other areas that were the subject of recommendations by the Venice Commis- sion including, the Ombudsman, positions of trust, permanent secretaries, independent commissions and the police. Drafts of the Bills would be published in the coming weeks, with the government looking to have them approved by the end of the year. One can only hope that, this once, common sense prevails over political expediency.