Transfer of Austin Walker's powers to new CEO to take months

It is still not known how long the transfer of powers from Austin Walker and its new CEO Ian Stafrace will take. Walker will continue to receive his present €93,000 annual salary, during a transition described as a “migration process” by Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi.

Originally, Walker’s role encompassed both the role of chairman and that of chief executive. The latter role has been taken up by Stafrace (MEPA’s former legal representative), who is receiving an annual salary €65,000, which will be increased to €70,000 in the second and third year of his contract.

According to a reply sent to MaltaToday last month, only when this transition is completed will the government be revising Walker’s salary.

But there are no timeframes for this transition.

Replying to a parliamentary question by Labour MP Leo Brincat, the Prime Minister revealed “that it is premature to talk about a fixed date but we are surely looking at a process which takes months, not days.”

In his reply, the Prime Minister described the transition of powers involving MEPA’s two top officials as “a migration process involving the transfer of the chairman’s executive powers to the CEO.”

The government even considered appointing a “charge manager” to enact the “wide-ranging reform which affects all operational aspects at MEPA” but finally opted to have the process led by Walker and Stafrace.

According to the Prime Minister, during the transition process, Walker will still head the implementation of the MEPA reform. “This is a wide-ranging reform which affects all the operational aspects of MEPA.”