Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/750768
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 13 NOVEMBER 2016 6 News JURGEN BALZAN DESPITE concerns voiced by NGOs, Labour MP Fran- co Mercieca has denied a conflict of interest in his part- ownership of a construction company and his role as chairman of the Parliamentary environment and plan- ning committee. Confirming his 10% shareholding in Menfi Ltd, whose shareholders include Joseph Portelli, the businessman behind one of the Paceville high-rise projects, Mercieca said "let me be clear and state that the parliamentary committee that I chair, discussed the holistic regenera- tion plan for Paceville and not any particular individual project." Last week, Mercieca chaired a committee meeting in which the master plan was ripped to shreds by Opposi- tion MPs, businessmen, residents and environmental- ists. During the meeting the Planning Authority's execu- tive chairman vehemently denied that the consultants for the Paceville master plan had a conflict of interest, after it was revealed that they had informed him of their work on one of the proposed skyscrapers in the area. Mott MacDonald, one of two consultancy firms for the master plan, had also drafted engineering reports for the Mercury House project, the brainchild of busi- nessman Joseph Portelli – who plans to build two sky- scrapers on the 80,000 square metre site. Speaking to MaltaToday, Mercieca said "Menfi Ltd is not involved in any projects in Malta, let alone in Pace- ville." He also insisted that he has no conflict of interest "and if you are questioning my stance in chairing the said committee you should enquire with all members and eNGOs who regularly attend the meetings." KEA: Mercieca should not sit on committee In comments to MaltaToday, Kamp Emergenza Am- bjent spokesperson Andre Callus said that Mercieca "should have declared his conflict of interest, or poten- tial conflict of interest, and withdrawn from chairing the meeting as he is laying himself open to suspicions of bias in the way he conducts said meetings." Callus said Mercieca – who replaced independent MP Marlene Farrugia – "should have declared his involve- ment in the first place and refrained from sitting on this committee." The KEA activist said the master plan should be scrapped because it is structurally flawed. Callus said the master plan's design was based exclu- sively on the developers' wishes, which has ultimately "resulted in a terrible plan that accommodates only the interest of a few developers." He added that a master plan should be based on devel- opment that safeguards the environment and serves the needs of the people and not of developers. "Moreover, a master plan should take into account the national level so that it reflects the overall needs of the country. This current master plan proposes very intense development in a tiny area without looking at the impact it will have on the surrounding areas and the rest of the country." jbalzan@mediatoday.com.mt Environment committee chair denies conflict of interest Labour MP Franco Mercieca says he has no conflict of interest in his role as committee chair on the Paceville master plan 6 months prison, €4,000 fine for assaulting police MAT THEW AGIUS A court has jailed and handed a hefty fine to a man who was charged with assaulting a po- lice officer who had wanted to question him during a patrol in Marsa. Two police officers had ap- proached Emanuele Kwaku to ask him some questions on Thursday at around 8pm, In- spector John Spiteri told the court. However Kwaku, who the in- spector said had been in the company of a prostitute at the time, had refused and reacted aggressively towards the offic- ers. The 21-year-old Ghanaian was arraigned before Magistrate Claire-Louise Stafrace yester- day, charged with violently at- tacking a police officer, giving false details to the authorities and failing to obey the officer's lawful orders. The accused pleaded guilty as charged, and the court prompt- ly jailed him for six months and fined him €4,000. Lawyer Victor Bugeja ap- peared for Kwaku. Zabbar man charged with shoplifting is ordered to go to rehab MAT THEW AGIUS A magistrate has ordered a man accused of a string of thefts from designer clothing outlets to un- dergo drug rehabilitation. Inspector Mark Anthony Mer- cieca arraigned 33-year-old Gor- don Albani of Zabbar before Magistrate Claire Stafrace Zam- mit yesterday, charging him with thefts from four shops – Bersh- ka, Calliope, Terranova and Pull & Bear – in Valletta and Sliema during October and this month. He was also charged with recidi- vism. Albani, who is unemployed, pleaded not guilty to the charges and told the court that he had had enough of taking drugs. The accused had been sen- tenced in January over the theft of a laptop, and had been report- ed to the court by his probation officer after he had missed sev- eral appointments. Albani explained that he had suffered a thrombosis and had spent time in hospital, where he had eventually been visited by the probation officer. He said he was not being noti- fied with the dates of his court sittings as he no longer lived at his grandmother's house, which has been put up for sale. Bail was granted against a per- sonal guarantee of €10,000. "I wasn't on methadone and was refused entry into the drug programme because of that; then when I started taking meth- adone, I was told that I was on a waiting list," he protested, when the magistrate ordered him to undergo drug rehabilitation. Lawyer Victor Bugeja request- ed the court to order a pre-sen- tencing rep ort, investigating the man's "very unstable home situ- ation". "We need to help this man, otherwise it will be useless to send him to prison and then he will be back to square one."