The new chair of the Planning Authority refused to be drawn into expressing his opinion on whether Malta is a victim of overdevelopment.
Emanuel Camilleri even refused to express an opinion on the findings of a recent study commissioned by the President of Malta on whether he believed the institution he will now lead should take a more leading role to control development.
Camilleri simply said he will make sure he sticks to the existing and any other policies and also to the electoral manifesto of the party in government.
He was being grilled by members of the Public Appointments Committee which then approved him as the new PA board chairperson despite Opposition MPs Adrian Delia, Karol Aquilina and Julie Zahra voting against his appointment. The government’s members, Chris Agius, Clayton Bartolo, Alison Zerafa Civelli and Naomi Cachia voted in his favour.
Camilleri was the government’s second nominee for chairperson of the PA after the first one, Anthony Borg, had to be withdrawn after he admitted that he was once offered an envelope with what is believed to be a bribe by a policeman and although he refused it, he had failed to report the case.
Camilleri, an accountant, has a long history of service in the public sector and has been chairperson of the Privatisation Unit at the Office of the Prime Minister since 2013. The function of the Privatisation Unit is to conduct the privatisation of a number of public enterprises as prescribed by the government in a correct and efficient manner.
Camilleri was also director-general within the Finance Ministry in the 1990s and chairperson of the Foundation for Tomorrow’s Schools within the Education Ministry.
Camilleri only conceded that there must be a balance between development, economic growth and the environment. The PA policies, he said, including the Strategic Plan for the Environment and Development, are a good step but should be revised every three years rather than every five. He also said the SPED should go beyond 2035.
“People are more aware of the environment and want more open spaces, more greenery through national parks within walking distance from home,” he said.
The education system is doing “a fairly good job” in educating children about the environment and the effects of daily decisions such as the use of the car for short-distance travelling, he added.
Asked by PN MP Aquilina whether he saw anything wrong within the PA and for his assessment of the authority he will soon lead, Camilleri replied: “From the outside I’m not seeing anything particularly wrong with the PA. I say from the outside because I am not involved… I read stories in the press like everyone else but how reliable are these?” he said.
Aquilina also asked for his opinion on a recent survey commissioned by the President as part of the state of the nation conference in which 66% of respondents said the PA should take a more leading role to control development.
Camilleri refused to express an opinion on where he stood on the issue questioning whether those who replied to the survey expressed “an emotional or a rational sentiment”.
Asked whether he was in favour of more towering buildings, Camilleri replied: “I have an open mind. I must see the individual application. I do not want to express an opinion as I do not want to prejudice any future projects.”
Questioned on how he dealt with allegations of wrongdoing and corruption within the Foundation for Tomorrow’s Schools when he was chairperson, Camilleri said that it was he who insisted that the allegations are referred to the police by former FTS chief Philip Rizzo, who eventually also resigned.
Asked whether he had ever received telephone calls from ministers, Camilleri at first denied but when prodded admitted he had received a couple. He insisted, however, that no one had ever interfered in his work.
Asked whether he was prepared to make public his declaration of assets, Camilleri replied in the negative, insisting that those were personal matters. He, however, insisted he was not involved in any business deals.