A junior minister with a vision

Catching up with George Pullicino, Miriam Dunn talks to the Sliema born junior minister about mergers and the EU

When Parliamentary Secretary George Pullicino chose the subject ‘A Case for the setting up of an Environmental Planning Authority’ for his final thesis in 1990, he never envisaged that he would be putting theory into practice 12 years down the line.

However, his experience as an architect and his time spent working at the Planning Services Division of the Public Works Department all proved to be invaluable when the new law was being formulated, which has led to the setting up of the newly-merged Malta Environment and Planning Authority.

Mr Pullicino is quick to point out that he oversees rather than manages MEPA, and will admit that autonomy can have its drawbacks.

"Sometimes it can be very frustrating to answer for the authority’s deeds when you have no way of changing things," he explains. "The Board has the say at the end of the day. That’s autonomy. We believe in it, despite the pain and frustration it can bring."

The parliamentary secretary adds that when the new law was formulated, a bid was made to find a compromise after years of extremes.

"Before 1990 the politician had too much power of influence, and was able to decide any application," he says. "Then we had the other extreme with only the appointed persons having the power to make decisions.

"The new law aims at striking a more intelligent balance, with Cabinet at least having the power to decide on certain appeals in which the development is of a national interest."

The decision to amalgamate environment protection and planning raised eyebrows among some sceptics, especially those who questioned whether a fair balance would be struck between what is often perceived as two conflicting points of view.

Mr Pullicino is quick to point out that the authority will inevitably experience teething problems. But he also believes the environment protection department only stands to gain from the merger.

"As with any new institution, MEPA will need time to mature," he says. "The main focus of our attention over the forthcoming weeks will be the capacity-building we have planned for the environment protection directorate.

"There will be two directorates; one for planning and one for environment protection. The planning directorate has been up and running and doing sterling work for the last 10 years now, but environment protection has never really been beefed up enough to shoulder its responsibilities.

"Now with the conventions we have signed and the acquis coming up, we need a bolstered directorate to enable us to respond to our obligations and to face the environmental challenges."

Mr Pullicino explains that the authority will be taking on new personnel in the coming weeks to strengthen the department, while the EU has agreed to provide technical training.

The parliamentary secretary disputes the theory that the merging of the two departments could lead to a conflict when certain delicate decisions have to be made, pointing out that many European countries have, over the past years, moved towards a convergence of land-use planning and environmental protection.

"If they felt the need to merge, Malta must surely stand to benefit from following in their footsteps since land-use here has much more impact because of the island’s small size," he says.

Mr Pullicino stresses that the PA’s mission statement was, and still is, environment protection and sustainable development.

"So I see no conflict. I am confident that we have retained the PA’s original mission statement and, if anything, broadened it," he says.

So how do we achieve a balance between protecting our scarce land and commercial development? Mr Pullicino believes the way forward must be one of sustainable development.

"There is no need for us to eat further into our agricultural land. Rather, we need to develop better the zone already earmarked for development," he explains. "If we redevelop buildings which have become derelict and make use of the vacant property in Malta then we have enough housing stock to help us for the next 20 years."

Mr Pullicino also highlights the problem of human resources.

"We have a shortage of personnel and we need a lot more synergy between those we possess," he says. "The PA already had an environment management unit which was partly duplicating the work of the EPD. We felt the need to move towards a much closer collaboration."

The parliamentary secretary also believes that one central authority will be more cost effective and will also lead to better enforcement.

"We have to bear in mind the cost of running two separate authorities," he emphasises. "Ironically, when the Environment Protection Bill was being discussed in Parliament, the Opposition criticised us for creating yet another authority for blue-eyed boys. And yet they also criticised us for proposing a merger. Personally, I found those arguments very contradictory also given the fact that the leader of the Opposition has stated that some authorities should merge!"

I ask him whether he is satisfied with how the PA has evolved over the 10 years since its inception.

"I think one has to appreciate how the PA started," he answers. "We all know the awful experiences of the PAPB and at the beginning the PA was simply a downsized department.

"There was no credibility and only a few trained personnel. Today,

we have a top organisation in terms of training and we have also taken significant steps in terms of data gathering."

Mr Pullicino also highlights what he believes to be one of the most important qualities, which is the fact that the system is transparent.

"When you think that nowadays there is the facility for public consultation on every application you can see how far we come. This was unthinkable 10 years ago," he says. "We have also reduced the number of pending cases and waiting time for approvals. Now I would like to see the PA focus on becoming more customer-friendly. There needs to be better dialogue with applicants; direct personal communication rather than just correspondence by mail."

Mr Pullicino became interested in politics from a young age. By 16 years of age he was already an active member of the ‘Studenti Demokristjani Maltin’, joining the Nationalist Party in 1987 before being elected president of the executive council of the party in 1992.

He still remembers when the Prime Minister asked him to consider standing as a PN candidate.

"I graduated on 11 May 1990 and on the same day the PN had organised a weekend seminar in Gozo," he says. "While I was there Eddie Fenech Adami asked me to contest.

"I had to make a decision because I had an option to further my studies on urban planning. Eventually I decided to contest the 1992 election – whether I made the right decision is still open to question!"

Mr Pullicino failed to get elected, although he obtained a good result in what is recognised as being a tough district.

Then, in the 1996 election, after failing to get elected for just six votes, he obtained his seat in Parliament through a by-election, and was successfully returned in 1998.

As one of the younger members of Government, I ask the parliamentary secretary how he reacts to jibes that there are too many old faces at the top. Does he think the criticism is justified?

" I don’t think age is a factor, I think what’s important is how people react in situations and how they look at politics," he answers. "I can say that the Prime Minister is as easy to communicate with as Jesmond Mugliett, for example."

So what does Mr Pullicino think the PN needs to do to clinch successful election and referendum results?

"I think we need much better direct communication with the people at the grassroots level," is his reply. "We have to dedicate more time and energy to this task, even if we do a little less than planned."

The parliamentary secretary points out that even saddled with the task of trying to reduce the national debt, the government has still managed to perform well, reversing unemployment and working towards its goal of EU membership.

Does this mean he rebukes the Labour Party’s criticism that the government is focusing on its EU application to the cost of other core issues, I ask?

"Rather than saying we have concentrated only on the EU, I prefer to think that we have worked hard on this subject," he answers. "And this has been for a reason.

"We firmly believe that if we miss this bus we will not have another opportunity for some 25 years or so."

Mr Pullicino admits that a no-vote to EU membership would definitely be a great disappointment for the government.

"Granted, the EU is not the end of our political existence, but it is certainly the platform which will allow us to arrive at our vision in the shortest possible time," he says.

The parliamentary secretary points out that Malta can implement reforms under its own steam, but this is bound to take longer and prompts the question of who will foot the bill, since the burden will fall on people in the form of taxation if EU funds are not utilised.

"I have no doubt that everyone agrees on the direction we want to head in, but the issue is how to get there," he says. "Perhaps we’d arrive where we want to in 20-30 years if we don’t opt for membership now, but should we give that option to our children? I believe we have a duty to arrive at our destination quicker."

Mr Pullicino also warns that in an era when the world is changing, Malta cannot afford to remain isolated.

"These are times when we are moving towards globalisation and new economic poles being created," he says. "Can we really afford to stand on our own? I simply don’t think that’s a feasible option.

"The world has changed over the past 15 years and it will definitely keep on changing.

"We either move with it or we become a fossilized island."