Roads department working on 72 urban roads

Transport Minister Censu Galea has insisted in parliament that the timing of road works should not depend on local or general elections or visits by visiting dignitaries.

Speaking during the debate on a bill amending the Local Councils Act, the minister said road works were being carried out according to a programme made public long ago.

He said that apart from arterial roads, the roads department was currently engaged on works on 72 roads which were indicated by the local councils as needing to be redone. Tenders would be awarded shortly for works on 87 other roads.

Mr Galea said that over the past three years works were carried out on 300 roads.

The minister said the road works coordination committee, set up by the Labour government, was good in principle but had not worked well in practice. For example, soon after the road from Vecca to Pescatore in St Paul's Bay was tarmacked, shortly before the last elections, Enemalta and Melita Cable said they wanted the road dug up for cable laying. He was resisting their requests because it was not right that road surfaces were destroyed so soon after they were laid.

He said a system had been started in a number of localities by which service culverts were prepared under pavements so that cables could be laid and removed simply after the removal of an iron grating. This was also being done in arterial roads.

Labour MP Evarist Bartolo said the recent delegation of power to local councils to issue licences for activities in their localities had been a step in the right direction, but it needed to be extended. For example, Pembroke local council had had no authority with regard to the erection of a luna park in Pembroke, even though it badly affected not only the residents of Pembroke but also those of nearby Swieqi. Local councils needed to be seriously consulted on the licensing of activities which could disturb residents.

It had been learnt that Pembroke council had agreed with a certain time limit within which the luna park could operate, but the police had unilaterally extended that time limit. Surely there should also be some sort of maximum decibel level that should not be surpassed. Residents' confidence in local councils would suffer if the councils were shown to be ineffective.

A recent legal notice had done away with the requisite for proposed new business outlets to get the agreement of immediate neighbours before they were granted a licence. An opportunity had been missed to give local councils the responsibility to advise neighbours of such proposed new businesses, then passing on the neighbours' reactions to the central authorities.

The consequence of this new arrangement was that a number of businesses were blatantly operating without a permit, with the local councils being all but impotent to stop them. They had no backing from the police and the Environment and Planning Authority.

Furthermore, a joint committee formed by a number of local councils had recently assumed executive powers that belonged to individual local councils. This was undemocratic and unacceptable and could have revealed a loophole in the law, Mr Bartolo said. The members of such committees should be at least as regulated as councillors.

Turning to education, Mr Bartolo said that although the minister for education had told the House that he wanted the Foundation for Tomorrow's Schools to coordinate activities with local councils, this was not happening. Local councils could make a significant input in the planning of school works. For example, when the plans for enlargement of Mgarr primary school were prepared, it was local council officials who pointed out that the main door should be relocated away from the busiest road in the village.

Mr Bartolo reiterated the opposition's commitment to dissolve the foundation as soon as it was re-elected, using the money directly on pupils and schools.

Dr Michael Asciak (PN) suggested that local councils should have a term of four years instead of three, easing electoral pressure on councillors. Such a move would also reduce costs for the holding of elections.

He referred to the EU Committee of Regions and said that should Malta join the EU, local councils would be able to actively participate in the committee's programmes.

He observed that representatives of Qala and Zabbar councils had already benefited from exchange visits organised by the Youth Programme of the EU.

Dr Asciak insisted that political parties, while providing guidelines, should not interfere in the way local councils operated. The councils were elected by the people in the interests of those people only, he said. He said the Labour Party had abused when it interfered in the affairs of Birzebbuga, telling it not to participate in the television programme Xarabank, dealing with a landfill. It had also put pressure on Cospicua councillors to replace the mayor.

Another case of abuse was over how Labour mayors were told not to sign a memorandum on a work programme prepared by the Association of Local Councils.

Dr Asciak welcomed the introduction of the local wardens and parking schemes in a number of localities, and criticised the Labour-controlled council of Marsa for having decided to impose a tariff on those who wished to set up a kiosk during the local feast. These self-employed people had already paid for their permits, he said, and the new charges were excessive. Local councils had to be careful not to impose additional burdens on these self-employed.

Concluding, Dr Asciak said local councils should become more proactive in dealing with environmental issues.

Dr Jose' Herrera (MLP) reiterated the opposition's backing for the bill, and said it should lead the councils to be more cautious and instead of a deficit, show a surplus.

The Labour MP argued that the one per cent penalty being imposed on those councils which did not submit the required financial reports on time was not enough and should be increased. At the same time, it needed to be ensured that councils could always have the right to appeal decisions taken against them.

Referring to the limitation imposed on donations, Dr Herrera said this measure would help to protect local councils which were inundated by requests for donations. He felt, however, that the ceiling on donations could be lifted somewhat with regard to assistance to cultural associations.

Dr Herrera spoke in favour of local councils teaming up, or forging joint ventures with the government, for particularly large projects from which whole regions would benefit.

Nationalist MP Michael Frendo said this bill was strengthening a law whose implementation so far had been so successful that nobody today called for the removal of local councils.

Power was now no longer concentrated within the government and decision-making had been brought closer to the people.

This bill would make for better administration of the councils by making it possible for effective action to be taken when the councils had a deficit.

The bill would also limit and better regulate the amount and nature of donations.

Happily the Labour Party had come around to accepting local councils, after having opposed them at first. Unfortunately the MLP had a tendency of coming around late in areas which were of benefit to the country, as had been independence, a situation which unfortunately slowed down progress.

Dr Frendo argued that while political parties should continue to have a right to participate in local council elections, local councils should not be partisan.

In having initially not contested the council elections, the Labour Party could have given the message that politics were a bad thing. The people, he said, had to be given real choices both on a national and a local level.

Mr Michael Bonnici (PN) said local councils could not go out of control in their budgeting. The provisions of this bill were actually similar to the practice in Europe.

Referring to local wardens, Mr Bonnici said the wardens should not be seen as a revenue-raising tool by the councils. The purpose of the wardens was to instil discipline. While many people now complained about the wardens, up to some time ago there used to be complaints about indiscipline. He said the wardens should act responsibly and not fine people needlessly when a warning would suffice.

Mr Bonnici asked what was being done regarding outstanding amounts due to government departments from the councils. Were these funds reflected in the councils' accounts?

Mr Bonnici referred to tendering procedures followed by local councils and suggested that detailed explanations should be given by the councils whenever a tender was awarded to the bidder who would not have submitted the cheapest offer.

Mr Carmelo Abela (MLP) insisted that councillors and council secretaries should be well versed in this bill.

Indeed, the people too should be aware of which areas of responsibility rested on the councils and which applied to the central government. All too often councils were blamed for shortcomings which were the government's, and vice-versa.

Mr Abela said that when it came to representation, mayors and councillors represented their constituents, rather than the parties on whose ticket they contested the elections. Care must be taken not to render local councils into mini government departments.

The government should show no preferences for councils with a Nationalist majority. It was time for politics on the local level to become more mature.

He said political party representation in local councils made for greater interest on the part of the electorate. But this was deterring non-political persons of substance from participating in the councils for the good of their localities.

Local wardens should be instructed to be less of policemen and more of friendly correctors of whoever broke the law, especially through littering, concluded Mr Abela.

Nationalist MP Jean Pierre Farrugia said that since local councils were first set up, the government has passed on Lm87 million to them according to the funding formula established by law to ensure that each locality enjoyed a certain development.

He said ways needed to be found how local councils could have a bigger impact on their communities. In Valletta, people complained that the council did not have enough funds to carry out much needed works.

Dr Farrugia said there needed to be closer collaboration between MPs and local councils in their constituencies since both worked for the benefit of their communities.

Councils should have their responsibilities strengthened and one should consider paying councillors for their work.

Labour MP Silvio Parnis said local councils were clearly of benefit to the country and it was a pity that some councils had run up deficits. Happily, Mosta and Paola councils which had had huge deficits, were now narrowing the gap, although the same could not be said for Xewkija and Msida.

Mr Parnis said councils should exercise discipline in their spending and plan their spending well ahead.

Unfortunately the operation of local wardens, at Lm8 per hour, was proving too expensive for some councils.

Mr Parnis stated that university students studying to become social workers should be posted to local councils to learn at first hand the social problems in the various localities. Furthermore, social workers should be posted in local councils to help those in need.

Dr Carmelo Mifsud Bonnici (PN) said measures which strengthened checks and balances regarding the spending of taxpayers' money were always welcome. Councillors were, in terms of this bill, being made more accountable and as a result there would be more transparency in public expenditure.

He argued that a new constitutional framework for the country needed to be considered so that the island could be in a better position to face the economic challenges of the future. The forces of globalisation and their effects on the market economy had to be debated.

The fundamental principles of a republic needed to be reconsidered in view of the changed circumstances since 1974.

Mr Noel Farrugia (MLP) complained about poor upkeep of housing estates in various localities.

He also insisted there needed to be closer collaboration between the central government and local councils in the protection of the rural environment.

With water being a scarce commodity, dams needed to be built and reservoirs needed to be better maintained. Local councils also needed to set up green belts between the various localities.

He also criticised the government for poor beach cleaning, notably at Ghajn Tuffieha, and said it was taking the government too long to rebuild public conveniences there.

The Ta' Qali crafts village, too, needed to be developed to better promote traditional skills and crafts and to create employment opportunities.

Parliamentary Secretary Edwin Vassallo said it was ironic that Mr Farrugia had spoken now about the crafts village, a day or so after a pubic exhibition of plans for the upgrading of the village. Other plans prepared by the former Labour government resembled a cemetery, he said.

Mr Vassallo also defended Mosta council, saying the debts it had incurred were the result of spending on facilities which benefited the public, such as a new lift and a hall at the civic centre.

The parliamentary secretary said works being done on the upgrading of the industrial zones of Tal-Handaq and Zebbug, among other localities, belied opposition claims that the central government discriminated against localities which had labour-controlled councils.

Mr Vassallo said it was a mistake for the Labour Party to label councillors Nationalist or Labourite. They were councillors, first and foremost and they should work in the interests of their localities, not the parties. The Nationalist Party should be careful not to fall into the same practice.

Mr Vassallo said is secretariat was seeking to work closely with all local councils for the benefit of their localities and small businessmen, independently of political beliefs.

The parliamentary secretary welcomed the provisions in the bill establishing the opening hours of local council offices saying the need for it had been felt for the sake of uniformity.

Mr Vassallo said local councils would in future have an increasingly important role in the handling of trading licences and through the provision of e-government services. These changes would in turn prompt departmental head offices to become more efficient and to serve the people as promptly as they expected.