Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1180732
NEWS 8 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 30 OCTOBER 2019 ON the same day that Buttigieg an- nounced his departure, the PA an- nounced a call for public consultation on how to change the rural policy ap- proved in 2014, through which coun- tryside ruins could be changed in to vil- las and small countryside retreats could be disguised as stores or stables. This was just one of a number of poli- cies approved under Buttigieg's tunure, in a policy blitz in the first two years of Labour's administration before the Environment and Resources Authority was even born and at a time when its predecessor; the Environment Protec- tion Directorate was left headless. Other policies included the one regu- lating the approval of petrol stations in the ODZ which is also being revamped, the policies allowing extra heights for hotels, the policy regulating high rises and crucially the development guide- lines which include a menu of policies which propped the building boom in urban areas. What never came to fruition was the formulation of new local plans and new development boundaries, a public con- sultation on which was commenced in 2013 but which were thrown on the backburner after the Zonqor contro- versy. Outlasting three Parliamentary secre- taries Buttigieg outlasted three parliamenta- ry secretaries responsible for planning, namely Micheal Farrugia, Michael Fal- zon and Deborah Schembri but seemed less in synch with super Minister Ian Borg who is responsible for both plan- ning and transport but who has taken the planning part of his portfolio more seriously, obscuring parliamentary sec- retary Chris Agius. Moreover over the past months there were growing signs of division between the PA's decision making boards and the Planning Directorate over which Buttigieg holds sway - which culmi- nated in a clash with Planning Com- mission chairman Elizabeth Ellul, over an application pushed by construction magnate Joseph Portelli to redevelop a countryside ruin in Qala. A key peg and a punching bag Still despite signs of unease in more recent times, during his tenure Butti- gieg was a key peg in the relationship between the state and major develop- ment projects. Johann Buttigieg incarnated the La- bour government's pro business ethos, believing that "as long as foreign invest- ment keeps coming into the country" the construction industry will remain "sustainable". In an interview published in 2017 he warned that the moment we start issu- ing less permits "we would see rental rates and prices go higher due to for- eigners competing with the locals." Buttigieg also took in his stride criti- cism over the selection process for the American University Campus and other controversial decisions like that of hiring a private jet to bring a govern- ment appointee to vote on the contro- versial DB Project. He willingly served as a punching bag for decisions which may well have been taken elsewhere. Despite being constantly targeted in the media Buttigieg maintained the composure of a well paid but humble civil servant who was not averse to scrutiny. Under his tenure the PA answered all question by MaltaToday, albeit not al- ways in a satisfactory way. I recall grilling him on the site selec- tion process for the Zonqor campus. I was struck by his ability to take the flak for others. Moreover having directly experienced the modus operandi of previous ad- ministration in his role as case officer in major projects even earning the re- buke of former PA auditor Joe Falzon, he also showed signs at frustration at being singled out for sins which were always part of the norm. Much remains to be seen whether the change over will impact on relation- ships between the PA and big busi- nesses behind major projects, often formulated after years of back room negotiations. It may also be the case that the sour- ing of some of these relationships also had a bearing on Buttigieg's resigna- tion. Still over the past months the gov- ernment has shown signs of wavering as pressure from local communities started mounting even within the ranks of the Labour party itself, with La- bour led councils uniting against Silvio Debono's DB project in Pembroke and Cottonera residents rebelling against the AUM project. The Planning Directorate's recom- mendation to approve the AUM pro- ject contrasted with the mood of the Planning Board which in the last meet- ing indicated its intention not to ap- prove it. A new balancing act The appointment of a new Execu- tive Chairman at the PA may well be seen as a rebalancing act just as Aus- tin Walker's appointment represented Lawrence Gonzi's 'conversion' to more environmentally cautious policies, af- ter himself opening the development floodgates before 2008 when the PA was run Andrew Calleja. While initially Walker was perceived as a highly paid political appointee, as time passed he started showing signs of independence and personal judgement, which in some cases further soured the PN's relationship with certain busi- nessmen like the Gaffarenas. In this sense much depends on who will replace Buttigieg. Will he be replaced by another politi- cally loyal public servant or by someone with a mind of his own? Or was Buttigieg ultimately side-lined because he had grown too much for this strategic role? Yet there may be another reason for the present government's caution on the planning front. For the impression of a "free for all" is eroding trust in the Planning Authority at a crucial juncture when the govern- ment has to push forward controversial decisions with regards to infrastructur- al works like the new Paceville network and the Gozo tunnel while finding a so- lution for the construction waste prob- lem possibly through land reclamation. In such a scenario the government may well opt to balance the negative environmental impact and outrage generated by decisions with a greater control on the planning process. Yet this may come at a political cost. For what ultimately undermined the Gonzi administration's planning re- forms was the impression that some animals were more equal than others. So far Labour has successfully coun- tered such an impression by lowering the bar for everyone, thus ensuring a wider circle of beneficiaries. Introducing more stringent planning rules, while being the right thing to do may be politically dangerous, as any sign of favouritism would fuel percep- tions of a clique. The only way out would be to intro- duce a firewall between the Planning Authority and the government of the day, in a way that responsibility over decisions falls squarely on planning of- ficials. But this may be easier said than done. The PA after Johann Buttigieg Johann Buttigieg presided over a building boom propped by planning policies devised in the first two years of the Labour administration. Does his departure represent a turn around to greater environmental sensitivity? Asks James Debono