Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/943656
maltatoday SUNDAY 18 FEBRUARY 2018 4 News JAMES DEBONO A full-time member of the Plan- ning Authority's planning com- mission could find himself in a decision-making position on projects by his own company's clients. Architect Mariello Spi- teri is a shareholder and director of EMDP, an architecture firm that regularly conducts Environment Impact Assessments commis- sioned by private devel- opers. As a full-time member of the planning commis- sion, he also decides on planning permits on a daily basis. Although PA employees are not allowed to exercise any pri- vate practice, they still may have "interests" which have to be de- clared, a PA spokesperson has told MaltaToday when queried about Spiteri's position. The PA spokesperson said Spi- teri was expected to abstain on any decision where he has a con- flict of interest. The planning commission takes decisions over some 95% of per- mit requests, and is composed of three architects, namely Mariello Spiteri, Simon Saliba and Eliza- beth Ellul, who chairs the com- mission. It is usually the higher Planning Board that takes decisions on ma- jor projects requiring EIAs. But Spiteri may find himself in a posi- tion where he decides on smaller projects presented by some of his company's potential clients. The commission's members were appointed in November 2014 for four years following a public call for applications issued by the Office of the Prime Min- ister. "All employees, whether Plan- ning Commission members or not, whether employed on full- time basis or part-time, are pre- vented from exercising their professional private practice. But personnel may still have an inter- est in different forms and there- fore it is the responsibility of the person involved to declare his or her interest," the PA told Malta- Today. The PA spokesperson said Ma- riello Spiteri had declared his "in- terest" in EMDP back in 2014 and that "he is not allowed to partici- pate or vote in any applications where a conflict of interest may arise or may be perceived." MaltaToday asked the PA whether it sees a risk of perceived conflict of interest in view of the fact that Spiteri is part of a board which takes decisions which may affect former, present and poten- tial clients. "All Commission members that either have an interest or have family connections that have an interest, are obliged to declare a conflict of interest and are to ab- stain themselves from any such decisions," the spokesperson said. The system of full-time boards whose members are precluded from private practice was intro- duced in 2011 following various reports on the conflict of inter- est of the part-time planning commission members, who were concurrently hired by private developers as their archi- tects. One such case involved Catherine Galea, a for- mer PA deputy chair- man and chairman of the planning commis- sion, who in 2008 re- signed due to her in- volvement as architect in works carried out on protected land before approval from the same authority. After the 2013 election, Robert Sarsero was appointed to the PA's new appeals tribunal, despite himself being a private architect. Sarsero abstains on cases where he might have a conflict of inter- est and is not a full-time employ- ee of the organisation. Spiteri's wife appointed ERA CEO In July 2017 Louise Spiteri – who is married to Mariello Spi- teri – was also appointed CEO of the Environment and Resources Authority (ERA), which is re- sponsible for monitoring the en- vironmental impact assessments and deciding whether a project requires an EIA or not. Spiteri is a full-time assistant lecturer at the University of Mal- ta and already served on the ERA board. A probe by MaltaToday con- firmed that the ERA CEO's role in the EIA process is extremely limited in what appears to be a very rigorous process. A spokesperson for environ- ment minister Jose Herrera de- scribed Spiteri's role as one of an "executive nature." "The provisions of the Environ- mental Protection Act and other internal controls adopted by the Authority leave no room for con- flicts of interests." EIAs are first reviewed by ERA's directorate composed of technical experts, then issued for public con- sultation and are finally reviewed and approved by the board of di- rectors, in which Spiteri is a non- voting member. Once approved, these are submitted to the Planning Authority for their consideration. era.org.mt Environment & Resources Authority Hexagon House, Spencer Hill, Marsa. PUBLIC CONSULTATION Trees and Woodlands Protec on Regula ons, 2018 The Environment Resources Authority (ERA) is revising the Trees and Woodlands Protec on Regula ons in order to protect an addi onal 14 tree species in the Maltese Islands, protect trees in urban public open spaces and increase controls on ac vi es and alien species which may harm trees. It is also being proposed that persons carrying out interven ons on protected trees, are to be licensed. Court penal es have been substan ally increased, par cularly for those interven ons concerning strictly protected trees. Guidelines on Works involving Trees, 2018 The Authority developed Guidelines on Works involving Trees, which guide those carrying out interven ons on trees, whether protected or not. The document provides guidance on permits that are required for certain interven ons on trees and how to apply for them, exemp ons from permits, and how to register as a tree specialist. Other sec ons on best prac ce, including pruning and transplan ng and compensatory plan ng are also provided. ERA is invi ng the public to submit wri en comments on the proposed amendments to both the regula on and guidelines by Thursday, 1st March 2018. Representa ons are to be made in wri ng to the: Na onal Affairs Environment & Resources Authority Hexagon House, Spencer Hill, Marsa, MRS 1441 or on the email address: era.policyconsulta on@era.org.mt For further details visit the Authority's website: h ps://era.org.mt/en/Pages/Dra -Policies.aspx MEETING FOR EX-CORPS WORKERS PRE-1979 The Action Committee informs of an information meeting for ex-corps workers who are party to the case Nr 1051/2009 Azzopardi vs Prim Ministru et THURSDAY 22 nd FEBRUARY 2018 at 6pm at the CATHOLIC INSTITUTE in Floriana Interested parties are encouraged to attend. PA board member owns EIA consultancy, wife now appointed chief of ERA Louise Spiteri was appointed CEO of ERA in July 2017 PARTIT Demokratiku (PD) has questioned the motives behind the proposed constitutional re- form called by Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, and called for the guaranteed autonomy of in- stitutions which, they said, have long been "victims of political bargaining and influence." "The PD has questioned the Labour Party's motives to revise the Constitution behind closed doors and what is the consti- tutional model that the PM is looking at. We also ask whether a Parliamentary Committee is going to be involved." PD said that the appointments and dismissals of the police commissioner, attorney gen- eral, auditor general, judiciary, the army leadership, the head of the Malta Secret Service and the FIAU have to have complete po- litical autonomy so as to ensure that their work is not tarnished by political bias. "Parliament also needs to extend proportional repre- sentation in the election of its members together and push to- wards true independence by the Broadcasting Authority." The party has called for the AG's office to be split into two, one for a "solicitor general" and one for the AG, insisting that the AG cannot have both the role of prosecutor and counsel to the Government. It also said the President's role should not remain a decorative one but become "prudently pro- active". PD questions motives behind constitutional reform CLARIFICATION IN the edition of MaltaTo- day on Sunday of 11 Febru- ary, 2018, it was incorrectly reported that Joseph Portelli, the entrepreneur behind the Mercury House high-rise de- velopment in St Julian's, was also involved in the consor- tium behind the White Rocks Development. This was incorrect. Joseph Portelli is not involved in this business group. The error is regretted.