Planning Authority board member flown in by private jet to vote on db project

Updated 10pm with government reaction The Planning Authority has confirmed that a board member was flown to and from Malta on a private jet on Thursday last week to be present for a vote that approved the controversial db group 38-storey tower. Jacqueline Gili, who voted in favour of the project, was flown in from a family holiday in Sicily at 9.30am, arriving late to the public hearing, and left Malta at 6.30pm that same day. Ms Gili is a government appointee on the PA board and is employed as a director in the Department of Contracts. A PA spokesman confirmed reports first carried on Newsbook but did not  reply to a request for further comment. Questions on the cost of the flight and why it was deemed necessary were not answered. It is extremely rare for all members of the PA board to be present for a vote. In 2017, Ms Gili was absent for 29 of 75 votes. That year, there was not a single hearing for which all members were present.  Times of Malta sources said fellow board members were not aware of the special arrangements being made for Ms Gili and several were in fact told she would be absent due to the family holiday. In a reaction late on Tuesday, a government spokesman...