Marsascala's 'independence day'

This Saturday, Marsascala residents will be called upon to cast their vote in order to choose a new local council for the locality.

Over the past few years, several residents have been irked by the partisan atmosphere in Marsascala, and so Grupp Indipendenti Marsaskala was formed to revive our flagging locality. We believe that all of us need to set aside our individual political beliefs in order to work together for one aim - to ensure that Marsascala gets its due in all matters affecting our village.

Our village is facing various threats to our communal well-being and our only interest is that of our locality. We feel a need to stand up and be counted in order to ensure that the situation in the locality improves and our village can move forward. We are not a new political party, nor are we out to "steal" anything from anyone; rather, we are proposing to work with and for everyone in the true interest of our community. We believe that dialogue and common sense are a must, and that a united council can do much more for our village than a divided one.

Grupp Indipendenti Marsaskala pledges to bring back a sense of civic pride to our home town, to move away from division and to instil a sense of unity within our community. Like many residents, the members of our group are upset at the current state of affairs, where we are treated as second class citizens by having every form of industry dumped in the South. We are irritated that Marsascala is not considered as having tourism potential and our village is losing many residents who just give in and move elsewhere.

The large number of residents who are offering support is encouraging to our team; people with divergent personal political opinions and people with different interests, have expressed their desire to have a local council that is pro-active, that works first and foremost for the sole interest of Marsascala and not for the interests of the political parties. Help is often given from unexpected quarters; some give it openly and others help discreetly due to fear of repercussions at the hands of "their" party. We believe that by being totally independent from political affiliations, we can build a bridge between all sectors of our community to work together with one aim: to give Marsascala the best we can. We know there are many capable members of our community who have a lot to contribute to our village, but these people will only involve themselves with a council that is divorced from partisan politics.

Within the space of three weeks, Grupp Indipendenti Marsaskala has organised itself on quasi professional lines; four candidates were nominated, a website - www.gimarsaskala.com - was set up, we created a logo based on our traditional Marsascala colours of orange and green to symbolise our loyalty to our village, a press conference was held and a well attended public meeting was organised. Households are receiving information on the group. Strangely enough, we are practically ignored by the Maltese politically controlled media. However, we have confidence in the intelligence of Marsascala residents to choose wisely in the interests of our village, and we leave the choices in their hands. We know we are up against the might of two very powerful political parties with staunch traditional support, but we can make a difference!

Grupp Indipendenti Marsaskala is offering four candidates (Marvic Attard Gialanzè, John Cole, Mariella Cutajar, Josie Muscat) who are representing all sectors of our community, and can each make a valid contribution. We believe that progress can only be registered if a future Marsascala local council works only in the interest of the Marsascala community, where decisions are only made for the good of our village, where the councillors are accountable only to Marsascala residents. This year, voters have a choice; they can either opt for more of the same partisan whingeing or bickering, or go for a breath of fresh air to give Marsascala a new lease of life.

This is the group's manifest:

"We wish to protect our environment, to encourage job creating opportunities, to create zoning policies. We aim to provide further training to those who wish to improve their abilities. The setting up of decent sports and leisure facilities. To meet the needs of the elderly and lonely people. To give our young people challenging and healthy alternatives to drugs, alcohol and crime. We believe that any proposed projects such as yacht marinas respect the needs of swimmers and large and small boat owners.

"We aim to establish round the clock police supervision and to insist on the building of the civic centre project. We will assist in traffic management schemes particularly in known bottle-neck areas and propose alternative routes. We wish to create and improve car parks.

"We also propose to form sub-committees for each area of Marsascala to identify closely the particular needs of the residents, and to bring together foreign residents to enable them to feel a part of our community and to share their skills. We pledge to hold regular dialogue meetings with the public, to identify problems and to discuss ideas, and initiatives.

"We also plan to focus on obtaining funds from local and foreign sources through various schemes to enable our community to benefit for the common good."