Valletta deserves sensitivity not another siege - mayor

Valletta does not deserve another siege, but more sensitivity towards its conservation, its mayor, Paul Borg Olivier, said in a strong commemorative address yesterday - part of the activities in the run-up to Victory Day today.

"Valletta cannot stand alone to resist the new siege on its infrastructure, caused by lack of funding, inefficiency and commercial insensitivity," Dr Borg Olivier said.

He said the capital city, a World Heritage Site, deserved the many capital projects that have been planned: the City Gate project, planned 15 years ago; the building of the Opera House, planned 50 years ago, and a serious plan for the derelict Fort St Elmo.

It also needed "more manageable projects, rather than major capital projects, which remain on paper".

Speaking at the event at Great Siege Square, Valletta, Dr Borg Olivier listed new pavements for pedestrians, an efficient, integrated transport system and a new parking regime as projects required to improve the quality of life of its residents.

These projects could not be financed solely by the local authority due to their high costs, he said.

The Valletta council could never keep up with the finances needed to improve the infrastructure of the city, the mayor said, describing the government's funding formula as "unjust" and adding that Valletta is prejudiced by the way funds are allocated.

The way things stood, Valletta would need some 60 years to improve its pavements, he said.

Dr Borg Olivier questioned why the city had to wait 10 years for a public garden when other areas were refurbished three times over in the same period; why it gave close to Lm1 million to the government generated through the Valletta circulation charge and got hardly anything back to maintain the streets and pavement, damaged by excessive traffic.

The need to improve Valletta's infrastructure was a bare necessity and a responsibility towards its residents and the thousands of daily visitors, he said.

Dr Borg Olivier said walking in the city has become dangerous and "the risks are too high".

He appealed to all stakeholders to become more sensitive, responsible and committed to contribute to the conservation of the Città Nuova - "a living symbol of our political and cultural heritage in the new Europe that is emerging".

"Malta and Valletta, with their history, identity, diversity and roots, are a synthesis of the EU... Today, the city's bastions are a symbol of what Europe stands for: faith, fortitude, perseverance, liberty, inclusion and solidarity," Dr Borg Olivier said.

Yesterday's commemorative event included a performance by the St Julian's children's choir, Cantores Sancti Juliani, as well as the laying of wreaths by government and Opposition representatives.

A 10-minute extract of the animated film, Il Diario (the Diary), on the Great Siege of 1565, was also screened. Produced by Italian production company Onion Studios, it is being premiered in October.

The event was presented by the National Festivities Committee, within the Malta Council for Culture and the Arts in the name of the Youth and the Arts Ministry.

Among the highlights of September 8, which is marked by the Grand Harbour regatta, is Mass at St John's Co-Cathedral, in Valletta at 9.30 a.m. today.