Planning Authority executive chairman’s new salary under discussion

A PA spokesperson has confirmed that the executive chairman is being paid the same salary previously enjoyed by the Chief Executive Officer of the Malta Environment and Planning Authority

Planning Authority executive chairperson Johann Buttigieg
Planning Authority executive chairperson Johann Buttigieg

The salary and allowances paid to the executive chairman of the Planning Authority are still under discussion, a spokesperson for the Planning Authority confirmed. 

The former CEO of the Planning Authority was appointed executive chairman of the Authority, with added responsibilities including that of chairing the Authority’s Executive Council, following the approval of the new planning law.

The PA spokesperson confirmed that in the interim, the executive chairman is being paid the same salary (and allowances) previously enjoyed by the Chief Executive Officer of the Malta Environment and Planning Authority.

The salary and allowances paid to Vince Cassar, whose role is now limited to chairing the Planning Board, are the same as those previously enjoyed by him when he was chairman of the Malta Environment and Planning Authority.

As CEO, Johann Buttigieg was receiving an annual salary of €60,000, €10,000 less than his predecessor, Ian Stafrace, made in his final year in office. 

When he was appointed in 2011, Stafrace received a basic salary of €65,000 – which was set to increase to €70,000 in the second and third years of his appointment. 

Buttigieg, who is in charge of the day-to-day running of the PA, is earning three times as much as present PA chairman Vince Cassar, who was appointed on a part-time basis with a salary of €18,000. In 2013, his predecessor, Austin Walker, who was initially appointed as executive chairman in 2008, received an annual salary of €93,000. 

According to the new law, the Executive Chairperson may only be dismissed by a Resolution of the House of Representatives at any time “for a just cause”. The law also specified that failure to achieve “the targets and objectives set for him by the Minister”, amounts to a just cause for dismissal. 

Before the approval of the new law, the authority’s CEO could be dismissed by the authority if he did not achieve the “targets and objectives” set for him by the authority.