Three-week breather for karozzini owners

Karozzini owners have been given three weeks to come up with an alternative apron in which their horse dung can be collected.

The decision was taken at a meeting chaired by Local Government Minister Austin Gatt and held at the request of the General Workers' Union, which is representing the cab owners.

Valletta mayor Paul Borg Olivier and Local Councils Association president Ian Micallef were also present for the meeting.

Karozzini owners are arguing that the apron they have been told to fit under their horses' belly could harm the horses. Valletta council subsidised half of the cost of the Lm20 apron.

The legal notice compelling owners to fit such an apron was announced in March, the regulations were issued in April and wardens started booking cab drivers at the end of May.

But cab owners have persistently refused to put the apron as required.

Some 200 cab drivers have been booked so far. The fine for flouting the law is Lm10 the first time round and Lm20 for each repeat offence.

During the next three weeks, wardens will not be booking cab drivers, but Dr Gatt made it clear that the only solution is to have an apron under the horse's belly in which to collect the dung. The government was not prepared to budge and finance the cleaning of dung from the streets, he said.