Left: Lands Authority CEO James Piscopo, Right: chairman Lino Farrugia Sacco

Lands Authority staff were treated to a public power struggle this week, after its chairman challenged the Authority’s new CEO James Piscopo on an email thread.

Piscopo, who used to be in charge of Transport Malta, was confirmed as the Lands Authority’s CEO two weeks ago and wasted no time in changing the rules of the game.

In an email sent on Tuesday afternoon and leaked to Lovin Malta, Piscopo informed the Lands Authority’s staff that several minor transactions – such as rent revisions, garage scheme applications, and lease extensions and renewals – no longer require the approval of the Board of Governors. Instead, he said, they will now require his own approval along with that of the relevant chief officer, director, or senior manager.

“Similar initiatives on further different transactions will also be introduced in due course,” he wrote.

However, the board’s chairman Lino Farrugia Sacco – a retired judge – responded a few minutes later to publicly challenge Piscopo’s orders.

“Dear all, this is to inform you that the Board never authorised Mr Piscopo to issue the email sent to you at 1:54pm and consequently it is to be considered that the changes mentioned in his email have not been brought into effect,” he wrote.

Piscopo got back to the Lands Authority staff the next day to confirm that, following consultation and direction, his original procedures still stand.

According to MaltaToday, this consultation took place directly with Transport and Infrastructure Minister Ian Borg and parliamentary secretary for planning Chris Agius.

A senior official told MaltaToday that Borg had personally written to the board of governors to inform them Piscopo was within his rights as CEO to change internal procedures.

Borg has not answered to a request for comment as of the time of writing.

What do you make of this public power struggle?

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Tim Diacono

Tim is interested in the rapid evolution of human society and is passionate about justice, human rights and cutting-edge political debates. You can follow him on Instagram or Twitter/X at @timdiacono or reach out to him at [email protected]