Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1539233
8 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 7 SEPTEMBER 2025 NEWS Hunters eligible to vote for eNGO representative on Planning Board THE list of 'environmental' NGOs eligible to vote for their representative on the Planning Board at the end of September includes the two main hunting organisations, namely the Feder- azzjoni Kaċċaturi Nassaba Kon- servazzjonisti and Kaċċaturi San Ubertu. This is because both or- ganisations identified themselves as working for environmental protection and the protection of animals when applying for VO status. It also includes a number of sectoral organisations ranging from the Bonsai Culture Group, which promotes the ancient art of growing and shaping minia- ture trees through workshops and exhibitions, to the Mosta Technopark Tenants Associa- tion, whose mission is to "main- tain and enhance the Mosta Technopark premises, in such a way as to provide a high-quality, serene, yet cost-effective busi- ness environment." These or- ganisations will have the same say as established environmental organisations with a track record of activism in the field. In total, 56 organisations are eligible to vote in the first-ever election to choose a representa- tive of environmental eNGOs on the Planning Board, due on 25 and 26 September. The unprece- dented election will pit outgoing board member Romano Cassar, whose first term expired in July, against architect Jorge Spiteri, who was already appointed to the Planning Board in July as the NGO representative in the ab- sence of any consultation with the NGOs after being nominated by the Malta Council for the Vol- untary Sector (MCVS), of which Spiteri is vice chairperson. Contacted by MaltaToday, Jes- mond Saliba, the Commission- er for Voluntary Organisations, explained the legal rationale for including such a motley crew of NGOs, including a number of obscure organisations largely absent from the news cycle, in an election for the eNGO repre- sentative on the Planning Board. He clarified that all organi- sations that self-identified as working "for the advancement of environmental protection and improvement, including the pro- tection of animals" were included in the list of voting organisations. This is because, when applying for VO status, all NGOs have to sign an application form in which they are asked to mark their social purposes. The head- ings which NGOs can tick in- clude areas such as health, re- ligion, sports, culture, human rights, philanthropy, and envi- ronmental protection/animal welfare, which are identified in the law regulating voluntary or- ganisations. NGOs can presently tick more than one box. Saliba explained that all those VOs who ticked environmental and animal protection in their applications are eligible to vote. Saliba hint- ed at future changes in the law regulating VOs to establish more clearly the main priority of each NGO to further clarify who qual- ifies as an eNGO. Uncharted territory Saliba acknowledged that the procedure currently being adopted is intended to fill a legal vacuum created by the lack of a clear process in the planning law for selecting an eNGO repre- sentative to the Planning Board. The Development Planning Act clearly states that a mem- ber representing "the interests of environmental NGOs" shall be chosen from amongst a number of persons nominated by the said NGOs. The planning law makes no direct reference to the MCVS but it does include a definition of "environmental NGOs" as "non-governmental organisa- tions promoting environmental protection and which are regis- tered under the Voluntary Or- ganisations Act." Moreover, the MCVS was in the past involved in the consul- tation process. In fact, outgoing board member Romano Cassar, a veteran activist hailing from the Malta Ramblers' Association, was appointed to the post after direct consultation between the Malta Council for the Voluntary Sector and a number of estab- lished environmental NGOs. Controversial election Following the expiry of Roma- no Cassar's term in July, the Mal- ta Council for the Voluntary Sec- tor (MCVS) directly nominated architect Jorge Spiteri, who was immediately installed on the PA Board. Spiteri still officially serves in this role while also seeking con- firmation in the forthcoming election. Spiteri also serves as an administrator for the MaYA Foundation, and is actively in- volved in the Malta Beekeepers' Association and the European Beekeeping Association. He also occupies the role of deputy chairperson of the MCVS as representative of the environ- ment and animal welfare sectors on its board. The election was called after a number of established environ- mental NGOs protested at not being consulted on Spiteri's ap- pointment. The election will now pit Spiteri against outgoing board member Romano Cassar, who is backed by all legacy eNGOs. Cassar is a long-standing activist in the Ramblers' Association. Over the past three years Cassar has con- sistently voted against projects opposed by eNGOs while taking an active role in Planning Board meetings. The Ramblers' Association of Malta, Din l-Art Ħelwa, BirdLife, Moviment Graffitti, Nature Trust Malta, Flimkien għal Ambjent Aħjar, Friends of the Earth Malta, Wirt Għawdex, and Għawdix had called for Spiteri's immediate resignation from the PA Board and for the withdrawal of his nomination for the role in the forthcoming election, alleg- ing a conflict of interest as dep- uty chair of the MCVS, which is the organisation responsible for administering the selection pro- cess. But a group of eight other NGOs, namely Il-Kollettiv, the Malta Youth in Agriculture Foundation, Malta Beekeepers' Association, Wirt iż-Żejtun, Breeds of Origin Conservancy, Agrarian Society, and the Foun- dation for the Conservation of the Maltese Honey Bee, have ex- pressed their trust in Jorge Spi- teri as their representative, and looked forward to the upcoming vote which will decide the issue "in a civil and democratic man- ner." The organisations praised Spi- teri's track record in activism, as well as his personal integrity, "on which nobody has any reason to cast any doubts." JAMES DEBONO jdebono@mediatoday.com.mt The list of organisations eligible for the unprecedented vote is drawn from all 56 organisations that identified environmental protection and animal protection as one of their primary aims in their applications for VO status, according to the Commissioner for Voluntary Organisations