€65,000 for new MEPA CEO

MEPA chairman Austin Walker is still receiving his €93,000 annual salary despite the appointment of a new Chief executive - Ian Stafrace - earning  €65,000, who has relieved him of the day-to-day running of the Authority.

But Walker’s salary will be revised “once the transition is over and the roles of the Chairman and the CEO are settled,” a spokesperson for the Office of the Prime Minister told MaltaToday.

The OPM revealed that the package of Dr Ian Stafrace comprises a basic salary of €65,000 – which is set to increase to €70,000 in the second and third year of his appointment – plus a car and fuel allowance and a performance bonus of up to 15% of the salary.

Stafrace, who was appointed in his new post without a public call for applications, had been handling the authority’s legal caseload since 2001, when the authority was embroiled in a high-profile legal feud with its chief lawyer and as a consequence, outsourced most of its legal caseload. MEPA paid Abela, Stafrace & Associates – formerly the legal firm led by President George Abela – €1.23 million for handling its caseload.  

Stafrace will be taking over Austin Walker’s duties as chief executive who will continue acting as the MEPA chairman. 

Back in June, when asked why he “deserved €93,000 a year,” Walker did not mince his words. “It all depends,” Walker said. “If you decide to buy an expensive car, then you have to pay for it.”

In an interview with MaltaToday last January, Walker defended his salary, arguing that if one pays peanuts, one only gets monkeys. 

“I was employed with Mizzi’s organisation for 30 years. The salary I received there was higher than the one I have now. This counts for other persons who previously worked in the private sector.”

He also revealed that he would be reluctantly accepting a reappointment when his post expires next June.

“Therefore against my wishes, I think I will be subjected to  pressure to accept an extension of my term in office after June… but given the choice, I would run so fast that nobody will be able to catch me, come 15 June.”

On that occasion Walker described his work load as “heavy” starting each day at 8:30am and finishing some time between 7:30pm and at 8:30pm.

Changes in responsibilities

The OPM spokesperson confirmed that the appointment of a MEPA Chief Executive Officer will over a period of time bring about a change in Walker’s responsibilities.

Stafrace has already assumed responsibilities relating to “the day to day administration of MEPA,” and other duties  specified in Article 13 of the Environment and Development Planning Act, which include assuming full responsibility for the overall supervision and control of MEPA’s Directorates.

On the other hand, Walker, as Chairman of MEPA, retains what the OPM describes as the  “important role” in leading the Authority by Chairing the Board which, amongst other things, “discusses and decides applications of large and sensitive projects and provides policy direction to MEPA.”

According to the OPM, Walker continues to play a critical role in ensuring the smooth implementation of MEPA’s reform process, which this year entered in the implementation stage.

“During this roll-out stage of the MEPA process, Walker is also serving as a point of reference to both internal and external stakeholders.”

Other expensive cars

Apart from the new wage for its CEO, MEPA also has to foot €440,278 for the full-time employment of the nine members of its two Environment Planning Commissions responsible for deciding on hundreds of ordinary permits.

Commission chairpersons Sandra Magro and Franco Montestin receive an annual salary of €54,043. This sum includes a €38,184 basic salary, a €1,980 petrol allowance and a car, and two additional non-pensionable allowances of €13,879.

The other board members receive € 47,456 a year each. This includes a basic salary of €32,456, a petrol allowance of €1,980, a car and two additional non-pensionable allowance of €13,020.

All board members and their families are covered by a health insurance and have free mobile phones and land lines.

The board members are Bjorn Bonello, Claude Borg, Saviour Borg, Elizabeth Ellul, Anthony Ellul, Anna Maria Montaldo and John Mangion.

Previously, this role was occupied by boards consisting of part-time architects who faced accusations of conflict of interest especially when deciding on projects involving past or potential clients.