Rabat needs a serious council

Last Week I heard the Rabat mayor's intervention on Super One radio. I was baffled at the mayor and vice-mayor's illogical reasoning. They stated that in three years of Labour administration in Rabat more was done than in nine years of Nationalist administration.

The mayor boasted that 24 roads in Rabat were resurfaced. I can confirm that six were financed by Government (Lm75,000 worth of roads for which I had signed the contract before the end of my term as mayor).

The first part of Riebu Well, St Paul Street as well as St Publius Street were financed from reserve funds allocated by the Nationalist majority before the end of their term three years ago. Narrow streets like Triq id-Dejqa do count in number but their surface is small. The mayor did not mention the resurfacing of the street where he lives - but it's there in number too!

It is good to know that Doni Street's core-test is not optimal - but the mayor still boasts of having resurfaced it! The mayor did not say that St Francis alley leading to Triq Nikola Saura needed a good sub-base, and since cars park there, resurfacing instead of concrete printing would have yielded better results! Rain water is already forming puddles there.

The mayor did not boast of constructing pavements - in fact no new pavements were built by his administration. In their third administration, PN councillors built many pavements at Tal-Virtù, part of Triq Bir ir-Riebu, Triq Bir Iljun, Triq Santa Rita (three ramps included) and Triq ir-Rebha, which amounted to approx Lm23,000. No valley has ever been cleaned up by the Labour council, resulting in the collapse of rubble walls as rubbish blocked water passage. Few dumping sites have been cleaned from the countryside in general. No pontoons have been laid for farmers' use.

All the roads constructed by the PN-led council had all necessary departmental work done: changing of water main systems, drainage, and Maltacom and Enemalta works, where necessary. Not so in College Street by this administration - the end result is water seeping in St Paul's Grotto. The same was to be done in Triq Bir ir-Riebu. The PN councillors and candidates for this election intervened with Minister Jesmond Mugliett who had promised to change the water system and construct a culvert, so as not to have the same farce of College Street repeated.

Speaking of culverts, two new ones were built in Triq Had-Dingli and Triq Hal Tartarni when there was a Nationalist majority. Tens of rubble walls were reconstructed by the PN-led council. The centre of Rabat was resurfaced decently according to ADT standards, namely Main Street, Victory Street, The Catacombs, Triq Karmena Micallef, part of Triq Bir ir-Riebu (alleys included), Hospital Street, part of Ghajn Kajjet flats and phase 1 of Tas-Salib, Imtahleb, Fiddien and Misrah Suffara. The surface area resurfaced during a Nationalist administration surpasses that covered by this administration. There was no mention that the PN council majority used to clean up the Ghajn tal-Hasselin every quarter and this is not being done at all now.

All the street name plaques were changed into ceramic ones with the Rabat coat-of-arms on them when Nationalist councillors were in a majority. There's a lot more to mention. Cleanliness was always a priority and Rabat was never as dirty as it is now. The PN majority council had also obtained funds for its twinning programme. Many activities, including exchanges, had been organised. Nothing has been done about the twinning in the past three years. The former council had purchased and refurbished its premises to give a better service to residents.

Could anyone agree that this Labour-led council, which we were lumped with in the last round of elections, has delivered more than a Nationalist one? The Labour-led council would get a 100 marks from the people of Rabat for successfully replacing former mayor Charles Azzopardi and their continuous success at squabbling among themselves, not to mention their inability to take decisions (when decisions where taken for them at the Labour Party club).

The people of Rabat need a sense of direction. They need a serious council with serious councillors. That is why they are going to go back to the Nationalist Party come Saturday.