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Updated | MEPA director of environment tenders her resignation
Petra Bianchi, political appointee chosen by Mario de Marco to MEPA executive, follows in Ian Stafrace’s footsteps and leaves authority.
17 April 2013, 12:00am
Staff Reporter
Staff Reporter
2 min read
The MEPA board: Ian Stafrace (third from left) and Petra Bianchi (second from right)
Updated with comment from Prime Minister
Another director of MEPA's politically-appointed board has tendered her resignation, following yesterday's announcement that MEPA chief executive Ian Stafrace had resigned.
Petra Bianchi, appointed to the post in February 2011, previously served as executive president of environment NGO Din l-Art Helwa, had a professional background as a university academic and lecturer in English.
Bianchi was handpicked without any public call for applications, a decision that fell foul of MEPA's new direction towards transparency and accountability and which led to a complaint to MEPA's audit officer Joe Falzon, who later criticised the procedure to appoint her.
Bianchi's predecessors in the post, Ray Piscopo and Martin Seychell, were both selected following a selection process and both had scientific background in engineering and chemistry respectively. Bianchi holds a doctorate in English literature from Oxford as well as an MBA from the Maastricht school of management.
Bianchi's responsibilities included biodiversity, air pollution, waste and the implementation of EU directives.
In a comment to MaltaToday, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said the government was still consdering whether to accept the resignation. "Theirs was a position of trust, appointed by the previous administration. We are still seeing whether these resignations should be accepted, and if accepted how they will be replaced. My preference is for an open and transparent process, but we still haven't yet decided whether it should be a direct appointment or issue internal calls at MEPA," he said, adding that a decision will be announced in the coming hours.
The Labour Party had hit out at the way MEPA officials were directly chosen and appointed by the government.
MEPA CEO Ian Stafrace tendered his resignation yesterday after having served at the helm of the Environment and Planning Authority for almost two years.
Appointed by the PN administration in 2011, Labour had been a critic of his direct appointment. Stafrace received a basic salary of €65,000 - which was 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, appointed 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.
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I was under the impression that politically appointed positions require resignation upon election even if there is no change in administration. Is this still applicble!
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Mrs Bianchi was irregularly appointed and so this resignation is long overdue. She should have done so when the Auditor of MEPA had pointed this out, but Walker,considering himself a Ferrari to justify his exorbitant salary, just rolled over this criticism. We would like to know how a degree in English qualifies one for a post in Mepa! Was it a BLUE DEGREE? ?
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Ma waqatx id-dinja jekk trid titlaq. Jappuntaw xi haddiehor flokha. Imut Papa jilhaq iehor.
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Another GonziPN politically motivated appointment hits the dust. There must have been at least another 4 top appointments at Mepa alone that have gone awol. Don't be sad for them. I am sure they looked after their interests well enough in the time they were there. Go on Labour, throw out all the buffoons who have done enough damage to Malta's environment and all for political and OTHER motives.
