Speaking truth to power: the story of an inconvenient auditor

[READ] THE FALZON REPORTS

The ombudsman informed auditor Joe Falzon that his services will no longer be required as of Thursday last week.

The news was not at all surprising as the new law setting the new role of Planning and Environment Commissioner has been in the pipeline for the past two years. The government had already made it clear that it will only renew Falzon's term until the new law appointing the new post came in to effect.

The fact that Falzon had his term extended for two years, in itself suggested certain reluctance on the part of the government on how to deal with a person whose integrity was always beyond reproach and who over the past eight years had earned the trust of the public by speaking truth to power.

It also appears that the ombudsman will have to take the final decision on who will occupy the new role after talks between the government and opposition on the new appointee were inconclusive. It is not clear whether anyone considered retaining Falzon in his role although Labour's reaction to Falzon's "removal" suggests that Joseph Muscat was not against Falzon's reinstatement.

Falzon was particularly incensed at being informed of the new appointment which will effectively replace his role so late in the day, when he is still working on a number of sensitive reports including that on MEPA's role in the illegal disposal of merceptan by Enemalta.

On its part the planning authority claims that it was only informed of the new appointment the ombudsman informed last Thursday after Falzon.

Chief Executive Ian Stafrace has also announced that MEPA will be asking Joe Falzon to stay on for a transition period in the wake of changes to the post.

An improbable hero

Falzon was handpicked by environment minister George Pullicino as MEPA's first internal auditor in 2004 after having served as deputy chairman of the Planning Authority and chairman of a DCC board.

From the very start of his appointment in 2004, Falzon defied the Authority's culture of secrecy by insisting on his right to pass his reports on MEPA's operations to those who had made the complaint º despite repeated objections by then MEPA chairman, Andrew Calleja.

Investigating the chairman

Tensions between the Authority and its Auditor reached new heights in 2006, when Falzon and his assistant, former PN president, and present AD deputy chairperson Carmel Cacopardo, started an investigation on MEPA chairman Andrew Calleja himself.

Writing in MEPA's own annual report - in which a couple of pages are allocated to the auditor - Falzon revealed that MEPA chairman Andrew Calleja had met with the developers of the Ta' Qali convention centre to discuss permits for the enormous tent to be set up at the national park.

Falzon questioned the practice of the chairman meeting with developers in the presence of MEPA's executive officials, saying that it sent a mixed message to employees in such meetings, who could interpret anything said by Calleja as an order.

Falzon had also penned a draft report on the approval of the Sant' Antnin Plant, but was asked not to divulge its contents by Ombudsman Joseph Said Pullicino.

MEPA had asked the Ombudsman to intervene after Joe Falzon sent a draft report to the MEPA board asking them for their comments.

Joe Falzon's first term in office expired on February 2007. The MEPA board immediately re-confirmed him in his post, but it took minister George Pullicino two months to convene Parliament's development committee to ratify this appointment.

It took another two weeks for the MEPA board to write to Falzon informing him of his re-appointment. But despite being formally re-appointed, Falzon had no staff with whom to start working.

Instead of having his office strengthened he found himself alone in his office deprived of his full-time investigator Carmel Cacopardo.

"I could not even enter my office and I had to call to my former secretary to open the door," a flabbergasted MEPA auditor Joe Falzon told MaltaToday describing his first day in office, following his formal re-appointment.

Falzon was only re-appointed after the term of Cacopardo as investigator had expired in April. Despite mounting pressure Falzon refused to appoint anyone but Carmel Cacopardo as his investigator.

"I want Carmel Cacopardo because he is incorruptible. I want someone of the same integrity, and not some minister's canvasser whom I cannot trust," he told MaltaToday in 2007.

Election blues

Just a few days before the election, Falzon dropped a bombshell, describing as "completely irregular" a permit for a supermarket constructed in Safi by Charles Polidano. The report led to the en-masse resignation of an entire DCC board on the eve of the election.

Falzon's stature had grown to the extent that Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi had no choice but to ask Falzon to investigate the controversial permit for a disco on agricultural land in Mistra, belonging to Nationalist MP Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando, when this became an issue before the March 2008 election.

Following Falzon's damning report, MEPA invoked Article 39-A to revoke the permit. This was the first of two permits revoked following a report by Falzon: the other was that granted to PN president Victor Scerri in Bahrija, also before an election.

Enter Austin Walker

The newly-elected prime minister was forced to seek the advice of the Office of the Attorney General to confirm the legality of the appointment Austin Walker as MEPA's executive chairman, after Falzon questioned the appointment.

Falzon had asked Walker to seek the advice of the AG regarding the legality of his "double role" as board chairman and an executive officer - a position which effectively makes him an employee of the Authority.

Falzon also questioned the legality of the appointment of MEPA employee Roderick Galdes as the opposition's representative on the MEPA board.

Despite being depleted of resources - except for an investigative officer from the Office of the Ombudsman who helps Falzon once a week - the MEPA auditor continued exposing cases of abuse.

Consistent to his stand that private meetings between MEPA officials and developers are illegal he expressed his disagreement with the court (in a sentence acquitting MEPA officials of trading of influence in the Mistra case) that meetings between planning officers and developers were "normal practice".

"I do not know when the practice of one-on-one meetings started. I had been chairman of the DCC (Development Control Commission) board for six years and I never had any one-on-one meetings with developers and objectors. I believe it is illegal because planning law says DCC meetings have to be held in public," Falzon said.

His comments earned him a public rebuke from the Prime Minister who described his comments as "shameful" for "contradicting the court's decision."

Falzon continued to speak through his reports, some of which were published in the media.

THE FALZON REPORTS

A list of sizzling cases investigated by MEPA's beleaguered auditor Joe Falzon.

2006 Xemxija landslide

When a site in Xemxija collapsed because of nearby works connected to a Polidano project, MEPA auditor Joe Falzon's report into the landslide found that MEPA had not taken any action against the developers, and insisted Polidano should be held responsible to restore the road.

2006 The Ta' Qali Tent

Joe Falzon revealed that MEPA chairman Andrew Calleja had met with the developers of the Ta' Qali convention centre to discuss permits for the enormous tent to be set up at the national park. Falzon questioned the practice of the chairman meeting with developers in the presence of MEPA's executive officials, saying that it sent a mixed message to employees in such meetings, who could interpret anything said by Calleja as an order.

2008 Lidl Supermarket (Safi)

In a report endorsed by the Prime Minister a few days before the election, Joe Falzon concluded that since the project was so extensive, it should have been covered by an Environmental Impact Assessment. The MEPA auditor said the approval gave rise to "the most serious concern", since the DCC "chose to ignore all the relevant approved policies and approve an application without in any way justifying its actions based on approved policies".

2008 Mistra Disco

The proposed development of a disco on land belonging to Nationalist MP Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando was the only Auditor report to be requested and published directly by Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi. The report described the DCC A's decision to approve a permit for the conversion of land in Mistra into a disco as a "gross irregularity." Falzon noted: "there is no indication as to why an application which was objectionable in principle was being considered positively by the DCC".

Falzon clearly blamed the DCC Division A for the approval of the application "where there is not the slightest justification for this action - and the DCC Division A is solely responsible for what happened".

Falzon also pointed out that the DCC Division A ignored all existing MEPA policies and "assumed that they could decide policy rather than enforce it".

Falzon also accused the DCC board of abuse of power, when it "chose to ignore the possibility of the need of an EIA."

He also expressed his concern about the future implications of the DCC's decision, which would allow anyone to obtain a permit in an Outside Development Zone, while exposing MEPA to "accusations of corruption" which would be "difficult to refute".

2008 Lidl Supermarket (Luqa)

Falzon started his investigation after the original owner of the land complained that his request to develop the same land had been turned down on three occasions by MEPA. Subsequently he sold his land to Charles Polidano, who found no difficulty in obtaining the development permit requested. "While in the case of the previous applicant the objections presented by the Civil Aviation Department led to its rejection, the same objections were dismissed simply because other developments exist in the area," Falzon told MaltaToday.

2009 Victor Scerri's Bahrija Villa

Following an investigation requested by the former PN president Victor Scerri himself, Joe Falzon revealed that members of DCC were bent on seeing the application approved, irrespective of any policies. In his report, published by the government, the auditor general said: "The assessment of this application, particularly by the DCC, should read: 'How to damage the natural environment with the blessing of the authorities responsible to safeguard it'."

He added that: "the extreme arrogance shown by the DCC in ignoring all policies and advice from the properly constituted bodies of Mepa without giving any plausible justification for such action is unbelievable. The auditor goes on to say that the submission of the application "was a puerile attempt at misleading Mepa".

The applicant, he said, described the existing buildings on site as an existing dwelling when the photographs submitted indicated a building in a state of partial collapse.

2009 Ta' Baldu permit

An investigation of a number of permits granted by MEPA on the archeologically sensitive area of Ta' Baldu in Dingli prompted the planning authority's Auditor Joe Falzon to call for a full-scale investigation of the development control commission's Division A's activists which issued the controversial permits before the 2008 elections.

"When I go over this list of applications - practically all to sanction - it makes me wonder what the point is of having the MEPA in the first place," Falzon wrote in his report on the development of a villa in Ta' Baldu.

"What is the point of having MEPA at considerable expense to the taxpayer when the professional advice of its officers is flagrantly ignored by the DCC without any justification being given? Why not revert back to the previous PAPB system where a board supported with the minimum clerical staff approved or rejected planning applications with little if any professional input? It would be much cheaper for the taxpayer than maintaining the MEPA, and the result would be the same," Falzon wrote in clear terms.

2011 Seminary extension

Falzon described a case officer's report justifying a massive extension of the Archbishop's Seminary on the scenic Rabat ridge of Tal-Virtù as an example of "sheer incompetence or abuse".

2011 Petra Bianchi's appointment

The Audit Office also questioned the appointment of Petra Bianchi as MEPA's new Director of MEPA's Environment Directorate .

In his report Falzon said it was "very unusual" that the selection process had been completed and the person appointed before authorisation from the Employment and Training Corporation was obtained.

Minutes of the board meetings where Dr Bianchi's appointment was discussed revealed that no discussion was held on her qualifications or suitability for the job.

One board member asked why no call for applications had been made and Austin Walker is quoted saying that the position of director was one of trust and outside the remit of the collective agreement.

"The process of employment through a call is lengthy and the authority stands to lose if the post is left vacant for a long time," Walker told the board.

However, the auditor criticised this reasoning, insisting Mepa was not a private company.

"The way the post has been filled is a very dangerous precedent which can have undesirable effects including using it as means to exclude persons on political beliefs, sexual orientation, gender... and does not necessarily result in the best person being appointed because head hunting is limited to the people known to the person making the appointment."

2012 It-Tafal tal-Mdina

Joe Falzon criticised the approval of three villas at It-Tafal tal-Imdina, an area in Rabat, suspected of being approved against policy just a week before the 2008 general elections.

The former Development Control Commission approved the final permit for the development on 26 February 2008, just 10 days before the 2008 elections.

According to Falzon, the two applications are contrary to established policies and contradicted two previous decisions by MEPA.

The only justification the DCC could produce was that the development was less intense than that previously proposed."

In reality the development in question was materially the same as that refused by MEPA in PA 7249/98," Falzon wrote.