Government appoints green lobbyist to top position in MEPA

After the appointment of Philip Manduca also from Din L-Art Helwa on the MEPA board, the government has appointed Petra Bianchi,   A director at the British Council and presently President of Din L-Art Helwa, Bianchi will faces an uphill battles as head of the directorate.

As President of Din l-Art Helwa she often criticised MEPA for decisions which were incompatible with environmental criteria.  Her latest tirade was about the saga at Dwejra, where the outgoing director Seychell was quizzed over his handling of the matter.

She will be seen as a 'welcome' replacement to Martin Seychell who was seen to be too distant to the NGO lobby.

The choice of candidates for such crucial position is usually taken in the Office of the Prime Minister, and it is clear that this choice was aimed at injecting more commitment to implementing environmental policies at MEPA.

It is not known whether Bianchi will retain her position as President of Din L-Art Helwa. 

In the controversy over the Valletta City Gat project, Bianchi distanced herself from the 'Astrid Vella' campaign against the project,

Bianchi  holds a doctorate in English literature from Oxford and replaces the outgoing director Martin Seychell, who at the end of February will be taking up a new post in Brussels as deputy Director General at the European Commission’s Directorate for Health.

Bianchi holds a doctorate and obtained an MBA from the Maastricht School of Management. She also graduated with a Masters and Bachelors Degree (Hons) from the University of Malta.

Bianchi is also the executive president of Din l-Art Helwa and the director of the British Council in Malta. She is also a board member of the Valletta, Mdina and Cottonera Rehabilitation Committees and a visiting lecturer at the University of Malta.

Bianchi’s term of office shall commence as from March 2011.