MEPA employees told to refrain from asking auditor to investigate suspicious cases

Article from MaltaStar.com.

MEPA employees were told to refrain from asking MEPA auditor, Joseph Falzon, to investigate suspicious cases that came to their attention.

Speaking in Parliament, Leo Brincat, Labour Party spokesperson for the environment, also revealed that although the Prime Minister earlier this week confirmed that the company responsible for discharging waste oil illegally near Hexagon House had been identified, at no stage did he confirm or deny Mr Brincat's allegation of three weeks back, that although MEPA was to take action against the company involved, orders from above prevailed.

Leo Brincat not only stated that abuses continuedto prevail within MEPA at a time when the reform process formulation was already underway, but he said that in its blistering attack the Church Environment Commission made it clear that through their attacks on the MEPA auditor both the PM and MEPA itself were promoting a Mafia style culture of omerta' that prevents the truth - no matter how embarrassing - from seeing the light of day.

Brincat also pointed out that although some constituted bodies had praised the Budget, not a single environmental group had done so.

The Labour Party's proposals for the Budget were:

- that the polluter pays principle should also be extended to government entities responsible for such pollution.

- that government should introduce without further procrastination comprehensive and holistic anti noise pollution legislation
- that Malta should immediately ensure that it will start drawing up its sustainable development indicators the way other less developed countries have been doing for years
- that once government has now assumed responsibility for sustainable development after the work put in by an excellent national commission their report should be debated in Parliament
- that Malta should seriously consider promoting initiatives such that raised in the Council of Europe for an additional protocol to be added to the European Convention on Human Rights, declaring the right to a healthy and viable environment as an additional human right.

Brincat also spoke of Malta's poor record in the following sectors: air quality, waste management and biodiversity, while claiming that government has only itself to blame for its poor environmental record and is thus unable to blame this on the economic recession as it has done for its financial debts and deficits and economic mess.

Brincat quoted environmentalist EA Mallia who said earlier this year that when it comes to the environment, this government simply cannot be trusted any more.

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