Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1284320
4 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 2 SEPTEMBER 2020 NEWS MATTHEW VELLA A group of NGOs is requesting a full-scale investigation into the practices that have led to a PA employee being appointed head of the Environment and Plan- ning Review Tribunal. Martin Saliba, former chair- person of the EPRT, was still listed as an employee of the Planning Authority, leading to a conflict of interest. A spokesperson for the NGOs said that while Saliba decided upon many appeals including those of the ITS-DB project, Tumas Group's Quad Towers of Imrieħel, and the Central Link Project, "not once did he disclose the fact that he was an employee of the Planning Authority. This means that he could have never met the re- quirements needed to qualify as an impartial or independent adjudicator in line with the de- mands of his role, since he was bound to his employer." As a consequence, the ap- pellants who appeared before Saliba may have never been given a fair hearing, the NGOs said. This also means that res- idents and NGOs who have been crowdfunding various appeals across the island may have been investing their hu- man, financial and profession- al resources in a system that is rigged against them. The NGOs are demanding a full-scale inquiry as to how this was allowed to happen, togeth- er with an audit of all the ap- peals Martin Saliba has decided upon, full disclosure of all his agreements with the Planning Authority and answers as to whether the current EPRT Chairman is also an employee of the PA. "Saliba's appointment as head of the EPRT is a gross miscar- riage of justice in planning, which raises the spectre that the PA may have been judging appeals against itself and de- nying citizens recourse to an impartial hearing. The NGOs insist they will not allow this latest scandal to be swept un- der the carpet," the NGOs said. The NGOs comprise: Attard Residents Environmental Net- work, Azzjoni: Tuna Artna Lu- ra Bicycle Advocacy Group, BirdLife Malta, Din l-Art Ħel- wa, Extinction Rebellion Malta, Flimkien għal Ambjent Aħjar, Friends of the Earth (Malta), MaYA Foundation, Moviment Graffitti, Nature Trust Malta, Ramblers' Association of Mal- ta, and the Archaeological So- ciety Malta. NGOs want investigation of PA appeals chairperson's conflict of interest MATTHEW VELLA PEOPLE employed in govern- ment positions as persons of trust should not comment on matters of political controversy and are obliged to treat others with re- spect, Malta's Commissioner for Standards in Public Life has stat- ed. In a decision on a complaint by Matthew Caruana Galizia, direc- tor of the Daphne Caruana Galizia Foundation, Standards Commis- sioner George Hyzler said an in- sult on Facebook by a ministerial person of trust was not acceptable. The complaint concerned a Facebook post by the head of the Hate Crime and Speech Unit, Dr Joseph Borg, in which he direct- ed an insult at Professor Arnold Cassola over a statement taking to task minister Michael Farrugia. Borg posted a statement on Facebook, in accompaniment to a MaltaToday article on Cassola's statement, containing the follow- ing remark, directed towards Mr Cassola: 'Profs Cassola just get a life as the one you have at the mo- ment sucks.' When he made the Facebook post, Borg was a person of trust in the Ministry for Home Affairs, led by Farrugia. Hyzler said in his decision that regular government employees in senior roles were obliged to main- tain political neutrality. "This ob- ligation also applies to persons of trust at equivalent levels," he said. Hyzler said nothing in the Standards in Public Life Act sug- gests that persons of trust be ex- empted from any parts of the Code of Ethics for Public Employ- ees and Board Members. "There are sound reasons why persons of trust, particularly those in sen- ior roles, should not be exempted from the requirement of political neutrality which is set out in par- agraph 21(1) of the Code of Ethics for Public Employees and Board Members. Like career officials, persons of trust, particularly those in senior roles, should accept that their appointment brings with it limitations on their ability to publicly air their personal views on matters of politics and public policy." Hyzler said the distinction be- tween persons of trust and career officials can be further blurred if persons of trust are assigned roles one would normally associate with career officials, as in the case of Dr Borg who served as head of the Hate Crime and Speech Unit. "The insult directed by Dr Jo- seph Borg at Prof Cassola did not reflect well on the public admin- istration and on Minister Michael Farrugia, in particular because Dr Borg was serving as head of the Hate Crime and Speech Unit in addition to being a person of trust." Hyzler met Dr Borg in the pres- ence of Minister Farrugia and pro- posed that the case should be con- cluded on the basis of an apology by Dr Borg. The Commissioner closed the case after receiving this apology. But Hyzler also said that the Hate Crime and Speech Unit was part of the permanent machinery of government and should not be treated as an extension of the min- ister's secretariat. "For this reason the headship of the Unit should not have been assigned to a per- son of trust," Hyzler said. The Commissioner considered a bill which is currently before Par- liament, and which is intended to provide a legal basis for appoint- ments on trust. "The bill cannot achieve this aim in the absence of constitutional amendments because the Con- stitution does not provide for ap- pointments on trust. "As a result of the bill many persons of trust may cease to be subject to scru- tiny by the Commissioner, yet it can potentially lead to a consid- erable increase in the number of persons of trust employed by the government. This would be to the detriment of standards in Maltese public administration." Persons of trust must retain neutrality on political matters - Standards Commissioner Standards Commissioners George Hyzler