Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/257374
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 9 FEBRUARY 2014 7 News New MEPA board overturns 56% of negative decisions JAMES DEBONO A new appeals board that the Labour government appointed for MEPA has already overturned MEPA de- cisions in 56% of the 25 cases it has heard during the month January. Effectively the new tribunal issued 13 permits which had previously been refused by MEPA. And another planning permit previously refused, has been referred back to the MEPA board for a decision. The rate of overturned decisions suggests a new spirit in the politi- cally-appointed board: the 'older' appeals board, which is still hearing cases, overturned MEPA decision in only 16% of the 32 cases it heard in the same month. The new appeals board is chaired by MEPA official Martin Saliba. In 19 cases, Labour candidate and lawyer Simon Micallef Stafrace, and Malta Freeport chairman and archi- tect Robert Sersero took the deci- sions. In six other cases, Saliba was accompanied by substitute mem- bers lawyer Andy Ellul and architect Claude Mallia. One of the decisions the tribunal sanctioned was an illegal wall in an archeologically sensitive site, in the vicinity of the Roman baths of Mgarr, after imposing a €1,000 fine. The appellant claimed that the wall had substituted an earlier one built in the 1960s. MEPA insisted that since the wall was rebuilt, it had to follow present regulations. The Su- perintendence for Cultural Heritage had objected to the sanctioning of the wall. The new tribunal also issued a per- mit to sanction a broiler farm in Ze- bbug. The authority had refused the permit because some of the poultry units were located within a WWII heavy anti-aircraft battery, which was deemed to have heritage value. The Superintendent of Cultural Heritage and the Superintendent of Fortifications also objected. But the tribunal has now issued a permit af- ter imposing a €2,329 fine. Additionally, the tribunal even ordered the relocation of new struc- tures, damaging the historical struc- tures, insisting that the area was al- ready "committed" as a broiler farm by previous permits. Another permit was also issued for the reconstruction of a dwelling in a rural hamlet in Dingli. MEPA had previously described the site of the development as a very sensitive one, characterized by a highly significant rural landscape and scenic venues, and considerable foliage from clus- ters of mature trees. The authority objected to the introduction of the second floor and the excessive prun- ing required for the development to take place. The tribunal has now imposed a €4,000 bank guarantee to ensure that the development "respects con- ditions" laid down. The new tribunal In August 2013, 740 pending cases were transferred from the jurisdic- tion of the Malta Environment and Planning Authority's full-time ap- peals tribunal appointed in 2011, to a new part-time tribunal recently appointed by the new Labor govern- ment. The government justified the crea- tion of the new board, known as Tri- bunal B, claiming that a backlog of cases has been accumulated over the past years. The new part-time board comple- ments an existing board composed of architect Chris Falzon as chair- person, Dr Ramon Rossignaud and architect Jevon Vella, who were en- gaged on a full-time basis for four years by MEPA in 2011. Tribunal A's responsibility will now be that of concluding those cases where the hearings have been finalised and where a decision is pending. The government claimed taht Tri- bunal A was in fact not coping with the pending backlog of cases. In 2011, MEPA had said that the board was contracted on a full-time basis "to further enhance the efficiency and consistency of MEPA's deci- sion-making process" and to avoid "conflicts of interest". DANIEL MIZZI A meeting between PN secretary- general Chris Said and the president of the Malta Developers' Associa- tion, Sandro Chetcuti, was cancelled at the last minute after Chetcuti made it clear that he was taking up a voluntary role inside Labour as an activist. The meeting, fixed back in De- cember 2013, was revealed in a TV confrontation between Said and Labour deputy leader for party af- fairs Toni Abela, on TVM's Dissett on the discussion of party financ- ing. But after the meeting with Chet- cuti was cancelled by Said, the PN organ Il-Mument set much store in a front-page splash outing Chet- cuti as a Labour volunteer who was meeting building contractors at the Labour HQ. Chetcuti has confirmed with Mal- taToday that he was approached to meet Said, but after indicating that he was taking up a voluntary role with Labour, was told that the meeting had been cancelled. MaltaToday revealed that Chet- cuti, who had been a regular donor for both Labour and the National- ist Party in the past, had decided to lobby for the Labour Party in an alleged fund-raising role. Chetcuti had also shown interest to stand as a PL candidate. Chetcuti's frankness with the new PN secretary-general came after the harrowing experience of hav- ing been accused of the attempted murder of former GRTU director general and PN candidate Vince Farrugia in 2011, before evidence of the inflated charges saw the ac- cusation being downgraded to griev- ous bodily harm. Chetcuti was acquitted of the original charge of attempted murder but found guilty of causing Farrugia slight injuries and of harassing and threatening Farrugia, and sentenced to one month's imprisonment, suspended for one year. Farrugia's links with Labour – the original cause for his al- tercation with Farrugia was an SMS to Joseph Muscat which he erroneously sent to Farru- gia – became media fodder for the Nationalist Party. During last Thursday's Dis- sett, while discussing the White Paper on party financ- ing, Said argued that amongst other shortcomings, the fact that Chetcuti was occupying an of- fice at the Labour headquarters put paid to Labour's transparency pledge. "On one hand, the Labour Party pledges transparency. On the other, the government has gifted Australia Hall to the PL, granted a contract to Henley & Partners, and then there's the issue of the MDA president…" the PN secretary-gen- eral said. "Labour is saying Chetcuti is just a volunteer in the party but at the same time he is using an office within the party to meet with sev- eral developers," Said said. But Abela retorted that before the PN took Chetcuti to task, Chris Said had tried to "enrol" Sandro Chetcuti within the PN. "Chris Said invited Sandro Chet- cuti to a meeting and asked him to join the Nationalist Party but Chetcuti told him that he felt more comfortable working within the Labour Party. Notwithstand- ing this, Chris Said asked Sandro Chetcuti to join and work within the PN," Abela argued. Trading blows, Chris Said dubbed Abela's comments as a "complete lie", saying he had only met Chet- cuti to have contact with the devel- opers' lobby. "I only met Sandro Chetcuti due to his capacity within the MDA and to have contact with the devel- opers' lobby. It is absurd for Toni Abela to say that I had asked San- dro Chetcuti to join the PN," Said insisted – although Abela replied that Chetcuti had only recently been elected as MDA president. TWO DEVELOPMENTS IN ARCHEOLOGICALLY SENSITIVE AREAS APPROVED PN approached man it loves to hate to 'make up' Sandro Chetcuti