Leo Brincat blames MEPA 'entirely' for Dwejra film set damage

Brincat said this while taking part in It-Tokk on Super One Radio, referring to the extensive amount of sand dispersed on Dwejra’s rock surface, for the filming of TV series ‘Game of Thrones’.

Brincat said that whilst the head of the Environment Protection Directorate Martin Seychell “boasted” that Dwejra will be restored to its former condition, he later admitted that he cannot claim no damage had been done, and cannot determine the extent of the damage.

The hurried issuing of the permit and the ignored €15,000 guarantee by MEPA suggest political pressures, Brincat said, and an independent inquiry should help reassure that any MEPA auditor findings will be revealed to the public. He accused the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM), the tourism ministry and Gozo minister responsible for the Eco Gozo project of having kept silent on the damage being caused to Gozo.

“The case of Dwejra reinforces the view that Malta urgently needs two entities - one for the environment and the other for planning,” Brincat said. On the other hand, Seychell confirmed that the permit was issued by the planning directorate in consultation with the environmental arm, but also, if it was up to him to issue the permit, he would have done so without hesitation.

Brincat failed to receive a reply from a MEPA official on a query relating to whether, as a Natura 2000 site, the project had been subjected to an appropriate assessment and whether the permit was issued legally.