New role for local councils

Next month Malta will experience the yearly local council elections in which about one third of the population will be participating. Besides those who submitted their nomination at the Electoral Office, the leaders of political parties have already started campaigning at a national level on behalf of those who are also representing one of the three parties. Independent candidates have mostly been edged out.

At first sight the March 11 local council elections may be viewed as an event that one should take within one's stride. But it is not just that. The nation is engulfed in about a whole month of politicking. One can also take into consideration the actual election cost in terms of time, energy, newspaper and TV coverage, personal propaganda handouts, and the expenditure incurred in its management and administration.

The Prime Minister, being also the leader of a political party, and ministers, being prominent members of the same party, devote some of their precious time to campaign on behalf of their party's local council candidates. To a lesser extent this applies to the opposition too, the difference being that the Labour Party is neither responsible for the management of the national economy nor for the administration and governance of the country.

Possibly, the pertinent question to ask is whether the government's and the opposition's attention should be diverted to local issues when there are national problems craving for solutions. It is presumed that local council candidates can handle their own propaganda, meet their constituents and promote their personal and respective parties' manifesto. In this way, at least, candidates and the local electorate will be closer to each other.

Perhaps political parties may consider debating whether local councils should be empowered with greater autonomy on wider spheres of administration. So far, local councils have limited powers. They mainly deal with minor roads, pavements, general embellishments of the place, and collecting traffic fines imposed by wardens on unwary drivers. Now, we have green wardens too.

Admittedly, there are local councils that, besides their normal work, have embarked on a wider spectrum of activities including culture, heritage and raising awareness with regard to monuments and historical buildings within their area of responsibilities. The next stage would be that they nurture local pride in traditional values and folklore that have developed over the years. Another important activity is that of twinning with other localities abroad. The wider the perspectives, the better for the local residents as the spill-over effects tend to create a better national identity.

But local councils can be empowered to do more than that. It is easier for them than for a central authority to compile data of the building stock and identify unoccupied premises that can be usefully deployed within their area. They can also provide information on regional characteristics, say, the number of telephones, mobile phones, and cars (including make, year of manufacture) per household; the mix of the employment structure between the different categories.

Another important function is that of providing information on commercial and economic activities within their area. This information has to be backed up by an employment picture: how many of the locality's residents are employed in activities generated within the area and how many workers are coming from other areas.

Of course, there are other activities that are worth going into. The list is endless. The purpose of such limited information, however, is for the central government to be in a better position to compare regional development in the various localities and help those that are losing ground in their way to more development. It is only through such new roles based on statistical data that policies can be formulated.