After €1.23 million in legal fees, MEPA contractor is made CEO

Corrected on 25 March, 2011 with transposition of sum from Maltese Lira into Euro.

The new chief executive for the Malta Environment and Planning Authority has been handling the authority’s 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, while legal chief Anthony Degateano was ordered to handle only appeals case, because he had filed a series of civil suits against MEPA's director-general for unfair disciplinary action.

Stafrace’s firm had its contract extended for a fourth time in 2009 by direct order, despite MEPA having its own in-house legal team led by Degaetano. Instead, it provided its own legal employees for Abela Stafrace.

MEPA claimed it had to outsource legal services to avoid a conflict of interest – namely, the fact that Degaetano was pursuing legal action against then director-general Godwin Cassar.

Degaetano filed a civil and criminal suit against Cassar over a disciplinary warning h issued against him, accusing him of filing a false report on illegal works abutting his house. But in 2005, the courts found a breach of Degaetano’s right to fair hearing, and that Cassar gave the disciplinary warning a day before the MEPA board actually discussed the matter.

MEPA itself filed an appeal against this ruling, which was not upheld. In a corresponding criminal libel suit against Cassar, Degaetano’s report was found not to have been “false, nor untrue, erroneous, incorrect or wrong”.

But the legal clash was enough to prompt the outsourcing of legal services at MEPA. Abela, Stafrace and Associates formed part of an “internal” legal office under Godwin Cassar’s direct responsibility.

Stafrace was formerly a director of Parmalat companies that were based in Malta.

MEPA today said Stafrace was appointed by government to draft the new act regulating environment protection and development control.

As CEO, he will join architect Christopher Borg (director of planning), engineer Ray Piscopo (director corporate services), Dr Petra Bianchi (director for environment protection), and architect Alexandr Borg (director enforcement) to develop MEPA’s strategy in its reform.

MEPA chairman Austin Walker said Stafrace’s appointment would strengthen management and make operations in line with the “key principles of consistency, efficiency, accountability and enforcement, on which the MEPA reform has been based.”

MEPA’s legal costs

Payments to Abela Stafrace & Associates (source: MEPA)