Hunters eligible to vote for eNGO representative on Planning Board

The list of ‘environmental’ NGOs eligible to vote for their representative on the Planning Board at the end of September includes the two main hunting organisations, namely the Federazzjoni Kaċċaturi Nassaba Konservazzjonisti and Kaċċaturi San Ubertu.

This is because both organisations identified themselves as working for environmental protection and the protection of animals when applying for VO status. 

It also includes a number of sectoral organisations ranging from the Bonsai Culture Group, which promotes the ancient art of growing and shaping miniature trees through workshops and exhibitions, to the Mosta Technopark Tenants Association, whose mission is to “maintain and enhance the Mosta Technopark premises, in such a way as to provide a high-quality, serene, yet cost-effective business environment.”

These organisations will have the same say as established environmental organisations with a track record of activism in the field. 

In total, 56 organisations are eligible to vote in the first-ever election to choose a representative of environmental eNGOs on the Planning Board, due on 25 and 26 September. The unprecedented election will pit outgoing board member Romano Cassar, whose first term expired in July, against architect Jorge Spiteri, who was already appointed to the Planning Board in July as the NGO representative in the absence of any consultation with the NGOs after being nominated by the Malta Council for the Voluntary Sector (MCVS), of which Spiteri is vice chairperson. 

Contacted by MaltaToday, Jesmond Saliba, the Commissioner for Voluntary Organisations, explained the legal rationale for including such a motley crew of NGOs, including a number of obscure organisations largely absent from the news cycle, in an election for the eNGO representative on the Planning Board. 

He clarified that all organisations that self-identified as working “for the advancement of environmental protection and improvement, including the protection of animals” were included in the list of voting organisations. 

This is because, when applying for VO status, all NGOs have to sign an application form in which they are asked to mark their social purposes. The headings which NGOs can tick include areas such as health, religion, sports, culture, human rights, philanthropy, and environmental protection/animal welfare, which are identified in the law regulating voluntary organisations. NGOs can presently tick more than one box. Saliba explained that all those VOs who ticked environmental and animal protection in their applications are eligible to vote. Saliba hinted at future changes in the law regulating VOs to establish more clearly the main priority of each NGO to further clarify who qualifies as an eNGO. 

Uncharted territory 

Saliba acknowledged that the procedure currently being adopted is intended to fill a legal vacuum created by the lack of a clear process in the planning law for selecting an eNGO representative to the Planning Board.  

The Development Planning Act clearly states that a member representing “the interests of environmental NGOs” shall be chosen from amongst a number of persons nominated by the said NGOs.  

The planning law makes no direct reference to the MCVS but it does include a definition of “environmental NGOs” as “non-governmental organisations promoting environmental protection and which are registered under the Voluntary Organisations Act.”  

Moreover, the MCVS was in the past involved in the consultation process. In fact, outgoing board member Romano Cassar, a veteran activist hailing from the Malta Ramblers’ Association, was appointed to the post after direct consultation between the Malta Council for the Voluntary Sector and a number of established environmental NGOs. 

Controversial election 

Following the expiry of Romano Cassar’s term in July, the Malta Council for the Voluntary Sector (MCVS) directly nominated architect Jorge Spiteri, who was immediately installed on the PA Board. 

Spiteri still officially serves in this role while also seeking confirmation in the forthcoming election. Spiteri also serves as an administrator for the MaYA Foundation, and is actively involved in the Malta Beekeepers’ Association and the European Beekeeping Association. 

He also occupies the role of deputy chairperson of the MCVS as representative of the environment and animal welfare sectors on its board. 

The election was called after a number of established environmental NGOs protested at not being consulted on Spiteri’s appointment. 

The election will now pit Spiteri against outgoing board member Romano Cassar, who is backed by all legacy eNGOs. Cassar is a long-standing activist in the Ramblers’ Association. Over the past three years Cassar has consistently voted against projects opposed by eNGOs while taking an active role in Planning Board meetings. 

The Ramblers' Association of Malta, Din l-Art Ħelwa, BirdLife, Moviment Graffitti, Nature Trust Malta, Flimkien għal Ambjent Aħjar, Friends of the Earth Malta, Wirt Għawdex, and Għawdix had called for Spiteri’s immediate resignation from the PA Board and for the withdrawal of his nomination for the role in the forthcoming election, alleging a conflict of interest as deputy chair of the MCVS, which is the organisation responsible for administering the selection process. 

But a group of eight other NGOs, namely Il-Kollettiv, the Malta Youth in Agriculture Foundation, Malta Beekeepers’ Association, Wirt iż-Żejtun, Breeds of Origin Conservancy, Agrarian Society, and the Foundation for the Conservation of the Maltese Honey Bee, have expressed their trust in Jorge Spiteri as their representative, and looked forward to the upcoming vote which will decide the issue “in a civil and democratic manner.”  

The organisations praised Spiteri’s track record in activism, as well as his personal integrity, “on which nobody has any reason to cast any doubts.”