The new Planning Authority board has a heavy Gozo presence following the appointments handed out by the new planning minister, Clint Camilleri, who is also minister for Gozo.
Five of the 10 PA board members have been changed after they submitted their resignation, as is normal practice, upon a change of minister.
Stefan Zrinzo Azzopardi’s planning portfolio was transferred to the Gozo minister in the recent Cabinet reshuffle.
The PA board will remain chaired by Emanuel Camilleri, with PA commission chairman Martin Camilleri as his deputy. Director General Rural Affairs Department, Saviour Debono Grech, Joseph Zammit, ERA director of compliance and enforcement Aimee Brincat and NGO representative Romano Cassar will retain their seats.
Former board members Sharon Mifsud, Jean Pierre Attard, Mario Bonello, Deborah Busuttil and Maria Briffa have been replaced by Marica Borg, Charles Hili, Andrew Ellul, Mario Borg and Joseph Tabone.
When replying to questions by Times of Malta, a spokesperson for the Gozo and planning ministry specified that Marica Borg, Ellul and Tabone were chosen by the minister in terms of a provision in the Development Planning Act that specifies that these so-called “independent members” are persons “of known integrity” and with knowledge of and experience in commerce, economy and industry, cultural heritage, matters relating to environment, development, social and community affairs, sustainable development and urban planning or architecture and infrastructure.
Borg is a lawyer by profession. She is actively involved in the Fondazzjoni Belt Victoria and Il-Ħaġar – Heart of Gozo Museum, the first cultural centre of its kind in Gozo. Borg is also involved in the day-to-day running and executive decisions of the museum.
Ellul, an architect and civil engineer, is the husband of the former controversial chair of the PA commission responsible for ODZ permits, Elizabeth Ellul. He served as president of the Chamber of Architects.
Tabone is qualified in construction engineering and obtained a postgraduate degree in architecture with a focus on conservation.
Hili and Mario Borg were appointed by the ministry as public officers representing the government and who have experience or qualifications in matters such as planning, the environment, infrastructure, economic affairs, agriculture, tourism and transport.
Hili is a project leader at the Gozo ministry currently responsible for the upcoming Gozo Museum.
He also serves on the board of directors of Heritage Malta and previously served on the board of the Maltese National Commission for UNESCO and the Arts Council Malta. He had also managed the restoration of the Cittadella Cultural Centre.
Mario Borg is an economist and worked for several years at the Economic Policy Department as a senior economic analyst, as a Director of Economic and Business Statistics at the National Statistics Office and as an economic consultant at MIMCOL. He currently serves as the chief executive officer at the Gozo Regional Development Authority.
The new board will meet today to decide on several applications, including the new Institute for Tourism Studies campus planned for SmartCity, in Kalkara, which has already been approved but which had part of the permit marked as a reserved matter.